One More Day
by Feithline
Summary: Syaoran and Sakura are 18, and moving on in life. Realization strikes Sakura, but will she get what she needs done in time? Complete!
1. Prologue

  
  
  
  
  
Series Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the.... errr.... prologue:  
"When I was born I was so surprised I didn't talk for a year and a half."  
Gracie Allen (1906 - 1964)  
  
Disclaimer: I wish I may, I wish I might, but CCS are mine, for only this night.  
Well, sorta true. I nabbed them so I could watch them blush at each other... SO KAWAII!  
  
Syaoran: Did you have too much sugar in your tea today, Feit?  
Feit: Hoe?  
Syaoran: Yup... too much sugar in the tea.  
  
--Prologue--  
  
Syaoran sat on the bench outside Sakura's home. The wind toussled his unruly hair and the   
sun glinted in his eyes. The warm summer air rested itself upon his shoulders, and the   
tension he felt was rising. Sakura had left from a party she was at almost an hour ago. She  
should have been home a while back. Syaoran unconsiously began to bounce his leg up and   
down. His patience, however much he had, had begun to wear thin. He wanted to see Sakura's   
glowing emerald eyes that reflected everything, from how she felt to how the earth beneath   
her feet felt. He wanted to hear her laughter, that sounded like the softest of silverbells   
ringing. He wanted to smell the flowery scent that hung about her like mist on a spring   
morning. He wanted to be with her, just so he could be priviledged to know that someday, she  
would care for him like he did her. So he could save his sanity for just one more day.  
  
His eyes traced the branches of the cherry blossom tree that grew on the other side of the   
sidewalk, and rested upon a bird not far from him. He hoped, for some strange reason, that   
the bird would hop closer to him. Perhaps it would give him courage to face his feelings.   
Maybe he just wanted to inspect the bird's delicate feathers in closer detail. But for   
whatever reason, it was not to be. The bird fluttered into the nearest branch, it's plumage  
being blurred by the rays of the sun mixing delicately with the soft pale pink petals.  
  
The loud sound of a car door banging shut startled Syaoran. He had not noticed the car   
pulling into the driveway. But he did notice the girl that had slammed the door. Her body   
curled as she ran, as if she had taken a blow to the stomach. Tears marked the ground where   
she had run. Her feet slapped the concrete, and the owner tried to dodge Syaoran. He was to   
fast, however, and caught Sakura in his arms. She leaned against him, giving up all her   
strength as she cried into his shoulder, forcing him to hold her up.   
  
Touya stood there by the car, watching the two. His eyes met amber as Syaoran's worried,   
almost frightened, and questioning gaze reached him. Touya still did not speak. He had no   
words to say. He couldn't find it in his heart to be mad at Syaoran for caring, and holding   
Sakura. He couldn't even find it in his heart to call him a brat. Although it pained him   
somewhat to know that Sakura found comfort in this boy, and not in her own brother. Touya   
had tried to comfort her, but she leaned away from him and into the door beside her. She had   
sobbed quietly with her head resting upon the window. Tears had fallen as she ignored the   
dull pain the bumps had caused her skull. All she could feel was the pain of witnessing such   
a scene. Touya hung his head, and walked past the two and into the house. Quietly shutting   
the door behind him, he leaned against it, and met his father's questioning glance.   
Thankfully, though, he didn't demand an answer.  
  
Syaoran's heart raced. What could have made such a happy person, someone with so much   
laughter in them that sadness had a hard time to show itself, sad? Instictively, he   
tightened his grip on her as her knees gave out. Lifting her, he sat her sob-wracking form  
on the bench, and sat down beside her. Sakura buried her face in his shoulder, and he   
wrapped his arms around her protectively. He was scared about what could have happened, but  
he waited until her sobs calmed down. However much his heart cherished this chance to hold   
her, it was not the time to dwell on it.  
  
--End of Prologue--  
  
SO!!! Did ya like it? *bounces* Did I leave you wondering? Did I leave you saying "Aww,   
KAWAII!!!"? Did I leave you thinking, 'What was that author THINKING!?'   
  
Syaoran: You made me sound like a sap!  
Feit: Oh, I know you liked it!  
Syaoran: I did not!  
Feit: *nudge* You didn't like holding Sakura so close? *nudge nudge*  
Syaoran: ///O_O/// err... ummm... Yea, I did.... but... You made me sound like a sap!  
Feit: Hey, watchit! Next time I'll make you blush neon colors if you keep it up!  
Syaoran: GOMEN NASAI! Gomen! GOMEN! *runs away* GOOOOMMEEEEEENNN!  
Sakura: *wanders in* What was that all about?  
Feit: *evil grin*  
  
  
  



	2. Confession

  
  
  
  
  
Series Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"If something anticipated arrives too late it finds us numb, wrung out from waiting, and we   
feel nothing at all. The best things arrive on time."  
Dorothy Gilman, A New Kind of Country, 1978  
  
Disclaimer: CLAMP owns these characters. *waves at the CLAMP people tied up and gagged* I   
promise I'll give them back!  
  
(AN: Japanese Translations are at the bottom. And if you are wondering, Sakura and Syaoran  
are 18.)  
  
Syaoran: At least we aren't 10.   
Sakura: Yea! Now we can stay up and watch Saturday Night Live!  
Feit: *facefaults*  
Syaoran: *sweatdrop*  
Sakura: *looks at the two* What?  
  
-- Chapter 1 - Confession --  
  
Syaoran closed his eyes and rested his chin on top of Sakura's head. He hated to see her   
this way. Every sob that wrenched at her heart tore at his soul. Slowly, he began to rub   
Sakura's back, a vain attempt at calming her sobs down. The sleeve of his shirt was   
indefinately soaked, but he didn't mind. He couldn't care less about that. All he knew was   
he cared for Sakura, in a way he never imagined he could. He drifted back in the few years   
he'd known her. She'd had cried, yes. But the only other time he could recall her crying   
like this was when she told Yukito that she loved him, and he had said he wasn't really the   
one she loved. Syaoran remembered her crying just like she was now. His spirit lifted,   
almost soared, when he came to the realization that she found comfort in him.   
  
Sakura, almost unnoticably, pulled away from Syaoran, and tried to wipe her pained tears   
from his shirt. He smiled gently, and took her delicate hand in his own. Sakura's tears had   
stopped leaking from her red, puffy eyes, but her breath kept involuntarilly streaming into   
her lungs. She almost seemed as if she had the hiccups, had it not been for her tear-worn   
face and tired eyes. Syaoran wiped a tear silently from the corner of her eye, and ran his   
thumb down her cheek, removing evidence of tears past. He released her hand, and it fell   
into Sakura's lap. She looked at it like she didn't know what it was. He watched her as she   
calmed herself, taking deep breaths, and letting them out slowly.  
  
"Daijoubu desu ka? What happened?" Syaoran asked. Sakura's eyes met his for a split second   
before she averted her gaze to stare at the cherry blossoms that had been trampled into the   
sidewalk. She poured all of her attention into the wet and wilted petals as if they were a   
teacher giving a lecture that would make or break your grade. Syaoran took her hand once   
more, and Sakura did not flinch, sigh, or move at all. She didn't even blush. "Sakura...   
tell me," Syaoran urged. She normally would not hold something back, no matter how painful.   
Then again, he's never seen her so upset before. Which was all the more reason for him to   
worry.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Syaoran. It's just..." Sakura paused, lifting to wipe away a tear that had   
gone unchecked. "Why, Syaoran? Why? It wasn't supposed to happen like that!" Sakura's   
sobbing returned, and she leaned into his arm again. "It wasn't supposed to end! No one was   
there! No one!"  
  
Syaoran's eyes widened at this, his arms enveloping Sakura's shaking form once more.   
"Sakura? What are you talking about?"  
  
Sakura turned away from him and hugged herself, still crying. Syaoran knelt in front of her,   
grasping her hands in his. He looked up at Sakura's shadowed face. "Sakura... you need to   
calm down. Tell me what happened. Please."  
  
Sakura nodded, and managed to settle her breathing after a short while. She looked into   
Syaoran's eyes, and the pools of amber, both reflecting worry, caring, and stability. She   
took a deep breath and nodded again. "Well... We were leaving the party. Everything was   
fine. We turned onto the service road, and all I could think about, was going to to movie   
with you." Sakura blushed here. Syaoran did too, but he willed her to continue. "And then,   
all of a sudden, this... cat... ran in front of the car! Someone had hit it. We managed to   
miss it, and I watched it fall in the middle of the road. It was twitching, Syaoran! It was   
in pain, and all I could do," her breath caught. She closed her eyes and continued, speaking   
softly. "All I could do... was watch. I had to watch it lay in the middle of the road, and   
all I could do was hope that maybe I could save it. I remember everything. I remember it's   
face, frightened that it would be hit all over again. I remember how it ran. It's spine was   
broken. It's legs flew up at impossible angles. It rolled and collapsed in the middle of the   
road. I remember Touya pulling over, and I remember him holding me back, not letting me go   
to it. The traffic. There was too much traffic. Touya ran to the nearby houses and asked if   
anyone owned the cat, as I sat at the edge of the road, screaming and crying. No one did.   
Almost, as if by magic, the traffic stopped. There wasn't a car in sight. I went out and I   
laid my hand upon it's body. It was so... warm... Syaoran. So warm, and the fur was so soft,   
like silk. I could feel it's frozen muscles beneath that fur. It was dead." Tears slipped   
from Sakura's eyes as Syaoran rised to sit next to her. She continued. "It was dead. It died   
alone, and uncared for. It died thinking that the world was cruel!" Her voice began to   
raise, in anger and frustration. "It died in pain! I could have at least been with it,   
so it would know that SOMEONE cared! I should have been with the cat! I should have let it   
know that some people could actually love it!" She had turned to Syaoran and had started to   
beat on his shoulder in such anger at the world, for letting that cat die. Syaoran didn't   
feel a thing except her pain, ripping through his heart. He hugged her tighter to him, and   
she lightened her blows on his arm, but didn't stop. "I should have done something... I   
should have done something..." she repeated the phrase over and over again. Her pounding had  
ceased to gripping his shirt. She had no more strength in herself to sob, but the tears   
still fell.   
  
Syaoran couldn't find any words to say. There were no words to express how he felt. If one   
were to try, they would fail miserably. But he knew that he loved her even more than before,   
if at all possible. He knew that only he could protect her, and that he was the only one   
that could love her as much as he did. Sighing, Syaoran held her, for what seemed forever.   
Her arm fell to her side, her mind finally allowing her to sleep as the sun set. Syaoran   
studied how the angry red light from the heavens glinted upon her silky hair. He felt her   
light breathing up his collarbone, and he felt her heartbeat as his hand lay on her back.  
Scooping her up gently, he carried her worn body to the front door of her house, and knocked  
gently. Touya answered the door, and Syaoran wordlessly deposited Sakura into her brother's  
arms. He then turned his head and slowly walked towards home.   
  
Touya watched as he disappeared around the corner. 'You know, the brat isn't all that bad.   
Of course, I'll never let him know that...'. Touya walked into the living room, where his   
father had been, watching, and passed him. He took Sakura into her room and laid her gently   
down. He tucked the covers under her chin. He studied her red face. This red didn't come from   
embarressment, or anger, or even love. It came from a saddness he truly hated to see. Which   
was why he disliked the brat from the beginning. But this time, it was impossible to lay   
blame on the kid.   
  
"Touya?"   
  
He looked into Sakura's eyes. The emerald that usually shined brighter than the sun were as   
dim as the late sunset outside beyond the windowpanes. Dried tears tightened the skin of her   
face, making her seem much more heartbroken than she was. Touya answered her. "Hmm?"  
  
"Where's Syaoran?"  
  
"He went home not too long ago."  
  
"Oh."  
  
A long pause streched between the two siblings. Sakura studied the ceiling as Touya studied   
the floor. Touya then looked at his little sister. "Sakura...?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You love him... don't you?"  
  
Crimson swept her face, and Touya almost smiled to know it wasn't despair that caused it.   
Sakura looked longingly out the window for a few moments, and then she turned back to her   
brother.  
  
"I think... I do."  
  
Touya smiled gently. He also swore to himself if the brat ever made Sakura cry, he'd find   
himself in deeper problems than he could ever imagine. Touya also knew Syaoran knew that.  
  
"Just never let him go, Sakura. And don't wait too long."  
  
Sakura glanced sharply at her brother's retreating form. "Hoe...?"  
  
-- End of Chapter 1 - Confession --  
  
Awwwwwwwww! What a sweet big brother! It's that just so Kawaiiiiiiiiiiiii!  
  
Japanese Translations:  
------- Daijoubu desu ka - Are you alright?  
------- Gomen nasai ------ I'm really sorry.  
------- Hoe -------------- Sakura's signature word, pronounced 'Ou-ehy'.  
  
Sakura: *bounces* oh that was just so adorably KAWAII!  
Syaoran: Feit, your a lonely buzzard that likes to mess with character's lives in your fics,   
aren't you?  
Feit: Yup! Thank you for the compliment. *sips some of her sugar-enriched tea*  
Syaoran: *sweatdrop*  
Sakura: Hey Feit, could I have some tea?  
Syaoran: !!!NO!!! ///*_*///  
Sakura: *blinks* Hoe?  
Feit: *giggles*  
  
  
  
  



	3. Suprise

  
  
  
  
  
Series Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
'First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.'  
Epictetus  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. CLAMP does. *brings out a tin can* Any donations for buying out   
CLAMP are REALLY appreciated! *beaming grin*  
  
(AN: Japanese Translations are at the bottom.)  
  
Syaoran: You aren't going to make me a sap again, are you, Feit?  
Sakura: I thought you were sweet!  
Syaoran: ///-_-///  
Feit: You really need to stop glowing like that, Rudolph.  
Syaoran: Shut up.  
  
-- Chapter 2 - Suprise --  
  
She sat beneath a wise, old oak tree, folded up, hugging her legs. She propped her chin on   
her knees, and closed her eyes. The edges of her lips curled upward in a dreamy smile. The   
sun made her see red, a shade of red that reminded her of the silkiest rose. The sun's rays   
warmed her bare skin, and the birds' songs made her feel completely at peace. Her mind   
drifted with her recent, and almost overwhelming, discovery. She had once thought she was in   
love, but that wasn't love. Yukito was right. It was a mere crush. This, on the other hand,   
was love. There was no denying it. Every thought of him made her smile. Everytime she saw him   
she blushed. Everytime he spoke, she could hardly concentrate on the words, because his voice   
was a smooth and as musical as water flowing over river pebbles. His brown hair was unruly,   
yet obedient at the same time. His bangs would fall in front of his eyes, causing him to push   
them aside. Oh, how she wanted to do that for him. His amber eyes mimicked his emotions. The   
glares he gave those he didn't trust made her heart flutter. His blushes made her feel weak   
at the knees. She was in love and she finally realized it. She loved him, and she was blind   
to any of his faults, which in her opinion, didn't exist. Syaoran had stolen her heart, and   
she willingly gave it and her soul to him. She knew he would always protect her, and he   
wouldn't let anything ever happen to her. But... her eyes snapped open. 'Does he love me?'  
  
Syaoran ventured to the park. He could feel Sakura's aura there, and it glowed like never   
before. It confused him, but of course, Sakura herself confused him often enough. Closing his   
eyes, he sensed where she was. He walked through noble trees and stopped just short of a   
small clearing. There she was, sitting and hugging her knees close to her. She wore a plain   
pale pink shirt and white shorts. Tan sandles adorned her feet. He grinned slightly. She   
looked cute in anything. Syaoran stood there, still unseen by her, and let every detail soak   
in, and let her image burn into his mind. The gentle breeze played with her feather-soft   
chestnut hair. Her skin was aglow with the sun's light, making Syaoran think of angels.   
Sakura was his angel. She WAS an angel. Her peaceful smile made a glorious and beautiful   
contrast to what she was like the day before. And then Syaoran noticed her eyes. They looked   
forward, focusing, yet not focusing at all. Worry reflected in her eyes. She looked lost, all   
of a sudden, as if she had fallen into an bottomless pit that she had thrown herself into.   
She looked almost scared. "Sakura?"  
  
Sakura's eyes darted to where the voice originated from. At first she saw no one, but slowly   
her eyes made out a figure lurking in the shadows. Syaoran. "Hai, Syaoran?"  
  
Syaoran shrugged, and walked into the clearing. He stood before her, looking down into her   
emerald eyes. "Are you feeling better?"  
  
Sakura nodded, almost lulled to daydreaming just by looking into his eyes.   
  
"I've got something for you." Syaoran said.  
  
Sakura's legs slipped through her arms, and she looked up at Syaoran. "Nani?"  
  
Syaoran grinned, and offered her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her up. "It's at my   
house."  
  
"What is?"  
  
Syaoran grinned again, giving away the fact he was definately planning something. "You'll   
see."  
  
"Hoeee..."  
  
Chuckling, Syaoran led her out of the park. The walked side by side, silently, and holding   
hands, they traversed several blocks before reaching Syaoran's home. Swiftly, Syaoran   
unlocked the door and ushered Sakura in, pushing her gently with a hand at the small of her   
back. Sakura was grateful that he couldn't see the blush that crept its way up the back of   
her neck and onto her cheeks.  
  
"Well?" She asked.  
  
"Wait."  
  
"Hoe..."  
  
Syaoran smiled gently, and lead her to the kitchen. He lifted a small pet taxi from the   
table, and Sakura's curiousity sky rocketed. Syaoran opened the door, and a small pink nose   
and olive green eyes inspected the two humans. Sakura, speechless, pulled the kitten from the   
open door, and held it in her arms. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at   
Syaoran. At today, they weren't tears of saddness. Sakura couldn't remember being so happy in   
such a long time. First, she learns just how much she loves the guy standing next to her, and   
now the one she loves gives her a gift that spoke volumes, yet that were undescribable.   
Sakura looked at Syaoran, but didn't speak. There were no words to say that she could find to  
fit this tremendous feeling that welled up in her heart. A tear slipped past the barriers of   
her eyelashes, and Syaoran smiled that smile that he only gave her. He wiped the tear from   
her cheek. The kitten reached up and licked her chin where the tear had dripped from. It's   
whiskers tickled Sakura's skin and she laughed. Minding the kitten, she pulled Syaoran into a   
hug, catching him offguard. "Arigato, Syaoran." She whispered. "Arigato."  
  
"Anything, Sakura, that would make you happy." Syaoran said as he returned her hug. Pulling   
away, he rubbed the kitten's white cheeks a few times. The face was white on the cheeks and   
forehead, and grey stretched from it's eyes, over it's ears, and met at the back of it's   
neck. The white continued down the tummy of the kitten, and grey streaked it's back and ran   
down it's legs, ending at the knees. Pale orange had spotted areas on it's tail, legs, and  
it's left ear. The softness of the colors and how smoothly they blended gave the illusion  
that the kitten's fur was painted over with pastels.  
  
"What will you name him?" Syaoran asked curiously.  
  
Sakura blushed lightly, and answered, "Li."  
  
Syaoran's eyes widened slightly. He smiled again, what seemed the thousandth time that day.   
"Thank you."  
  
"It's only right. And besides... he does remind me of you."  
  
"How?"  
  
"You're both cute."  
  
Syaoran laughed genuinely at this, along with a blush that crept over his face. "You want   
something to eat?"  
  
"Sure! I'm starved." As if on cue, her stomach growled. Sakura giggled, and set the kitten on   
the floor, and moved to a chair at the table. The kitten laid down between her feet.  
  
Syaoran pulled out a half eaten loaf of bread and some lunch meat. "Eat your fill."  
  
"I always do."  
  
"Yea... and you eat me out of house and home while doing so." He teased.  
  
"I don't eat that much!" Sakura said, and reached over and slapped his arm playfully.  
  
"Really now? Is that right?"  
  
"It's Kero that eats everything. Not me."  
  
"Oh right. The stuffed animal."  
  
Sakura laughed, and shook her head slightly. "You're going to dig your own grave, ya know."  
  
"Is that stuffed animal the one that's going to bury me?"  
  
"No. My brother."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"He and Kero are amazingly close friends now."  
  
"Oh fun." Syaoran muttered, taking a bite from his sandwich. The two that dislike him the   
most in Sakura's household teaming up.  
  
"Don't worry."  
  
"Who said I was worried?"  
  
"Don't talk with your mouth full."  
  
Syaoran swallowed. "Gomen."  
  
Silence tainted the air between the two, and Sakura smiled as she felt the purring of a furry   
being against her ankle. Her thoughts drifted to what her brother has said.  
  
~"~Just never let him go, Sakura. And don't wait too long.~"~  
  
'What did he mean by that? I can understand the ~Just never let him go~ part, but why ~don't   
wait too long~? Too long before what? Before I tell him?' Sakura nodded inwardly. That must   
be what Touya had meant. 'But I don't think that right now would be a good time to tell him.   
He might choke on his food.' Sakura smiled. 'He's so shy.'  
  
-- End of Chapter 2 - Suprise --  
  
Japanese Translations:  
------- Hai. ------------- Yes.  
------- Nani? ------------ What?  
------- Hoe -------------- Sakura's signature word, pronounced 'Ou-ehy'.  
------- Arigato. --------- Thank you.  
------- Gomen. ----------- Sorry.  
  
Feit: GAHHHH! Short chapter! I really wish I could have made that longer! I tried! Please  
forgive me!  
Syaoran: I forgive you.  
Feit: *looks at Syaoran incredilously* You do?  
Syaoran: Yup. That gives you less of a chance to torture my reputation.  
Feit: Watch it Rudolph.  
Syaoran: Shut up!  
Sakura: Be nice! Do you want her to make you do stupid stuff in the next chapter?  
Syaoran: o_O *thinks* 'She actually wasn't dense for once... whoa'  
Sakura: *hits the back of his head*  
Syaoran: What was that for!?  
Sakura: ESP, remember?  
Syaoran: *sweatdrop*  
Feit: Awww, they act just like newlyweds... *stars in her eyes*  
Sakura: *Gives Feit some tea*  
Feit: *screams with joy and runs off with her tea*  
  
  
  



	4. If Only I Knew

  
  
  
  
  
Series Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"When things are at their worst I find something always happens."  
W. Somerset Maugham, 'Of Human Bondage', 1915  
  
Disclaimer: Just when you think you've read them all. Another disclaimer for ya! CLAMP owns  
them. Not me. Don't sue me. All I got is a penny. No really! *shows penny to everyone*  
  
(AN: Japanese Translations are at the bottom.)  
  
Syaoran: Do you honestly think they care about you having a penny?  
Feit: Keep quiet, Rudolph.   
Syaoran: STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!  
Sakura: Who's Rudolph?  
Feit: *sweatdrop*  
Syaoran: *sweatdrop*  
  
-- Chapter 3 - If Only I Knew --  
  
A yellow creature that resembled a teddy bear jumped up and down in front of the TV,   
throwing a childish tantrum. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HE CHEATED!!!"  
  
Sakura laughed as she came through the doorway, holding the Pet Taxi in one hand, and her   
mail in the other. "Game character's can't cheat, Kero."  
  
"Awwwwwwwwww! NOT FAIR NOT FAIR!"  
  
"Could you please not scream? You're scaring the kitten, you stuffed animal."  
  
"Don't you DARE call me that! I don't think I'd live with you AND the kid calling me that.   
And I'm not scaring the kitten! I -- KITTEN!? Since when have you had a kitten!?"  
  
Sakura just shook her head lightly at the little guardian. "Syaoran gave him to me." Sakura   
tilted her head slightly as she opened the cage door. "Sort of like a replacement for that   
cat in the road yesterday."  
  
"He just got you a kitten, and didn't think about anyone else in this house, huh?"  
  
"Well, Dad seemed to know about it when I came home. Apparently Syaoran cleared getting a   
kitten with my dad."  
  
"But he didn't think about ME!! It's a KITTEN Sakura! The furball will think I'm a TOY!!!!"  
  
"Somehow I think he took that into consideration," Sakura mumbled under her breath.  
  
"I HEARD THAT!" An angry Kero declared, and curled his tiny fist threateningly, more of at   
the kitten rather than Sakura.  
  
Someone rapped on the door's open frame. Sakura turned and saw Touya sticking his head in   
curiously. "What's all the yelling about?"  
  
Kero flew around, buzzing about how annoyed he was, animatedly complaining over such and  
such, mainly Syaoran giving Sakura a kitten, and how he lost the game. Touya chuckled, and   
came into the room. He played a few minutes with the kitten. He glanced at Sakura as he   
dragged his finger over the bed sheets for the kitten to chase.  
  
"Name?"  
  
Sakura blushed slightly. "Li."  
  
Touya grinned and gripped Sakura's shoulder knowingly. He headed towards the doorway,   
signaling Kero to follow as he left the room. "Come on, Kero. I bought some cookies on my way   
home."  
  
"COOKIES!? WAHOOOO!!!" Kero shouted joyously and he zoomed out of the room and past Touya and   
into the kitchen. "COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES!"  
  
Sakura just laughed at her guardian's antics. "Some guardian he is, huh, Li?" She asked the   
kitten as he attacked her fingers playfully. Sakura sighed happily, her thoughts straying to   
Syaoran, or more accurately, his wonderful smile and amber eyes. "I wonder, Li, if he cares   
for me as much as I care for him."  
  
Leaving the kitten to wander her room, Sakura turned to her small pile of mail. Three white   
envelopes with her address gracing the front lay on her bed. Swiftly, Sakura picked up the   
first one and slid her thumb under the glued flap. Pulling out the stationary, she smiled as   
she recognized the handwriting.  
  
~~~ Hey Sakura!   
  
Haven't written you in ages! How's life, Card Mistress?  
  
I'm a transfer student in the United States right now. I forgot if I had told you or not! My   
memory is failing me. However, the most pressing business I have right now is getting back to   
Japan. I miss you and the rest of my friends there. ('Especially Tomoyo,' Sakura thought with   
a smirk.) I'll try to come for a visit in the next month!   
  
See you then,  
Eriol  
  
P.S. How's Tomoyo? (Sakura laughed at this mild and indirect way of getting information.)  
~~~  
Setting that letter on her desk as a reminder to write him back, Sakura pick up the next one.   
Noticing it was just a subscription request from a teen magazine she had grown out of, she   
tossed it in the trash. It caused a small 'thunk' as it landed on the bare metal bottom of   
the bin. Sakura's attention was grabbed by the third envelope. There was no return address on   
it. Curiously, she opened the letter.  
  
~~~  
Someday soon, Sakura. I promise.  
~~~  
  
Her eyes widened. 'What does THAT mean!?' Her eyes inspected every detail. It was sloppily   
written, but she still did not recognize the handwriting. The corner was bent as if someone   
had figited with it. The creases that ran across the paper were sharp and decisive, making   
a sharp contrast to the handwriting. Her eyes roamed it for any more telling detail, but there  
was nothing.  
  
Sakura jumped and dropped the message, and fumbled slightly for the phone as it chirruped   
into the still air of her room. Clicking it on, she tucked the phone on her shoulder,   
allowing her to use both hands to pry the kitten from her shirt. "Moshi Moshi?"  
  
"Sakura! What's up?"  
  
"Hey Tomoyo. I just got home."  
  
"Have you spoken to Syaoran today?"  
  
"Yea. I was just over at his house."  
  
"His house? What for?"  
  
"He gave me a... present of sorts."  
  
"Nani? What did he give you?" Tomoyo's voice heightened with excitement. Sakura let her   
muscles go limp as she recalled that same tone before Tomoyo would whip out the recorder.  
  
"How 'bout I come over and show you?"  
  
"Great! See ya soon."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Sakura clicked off the power and tossed the phone into her bag, and put the kitten quietly   
back into the Pet Taxi. It amazed her that Li hadn't started to meow pitifully. Another   
personality trait that made the kitten so similar to Syaoran. Both quiet, and brave beyond   
reason.  
  
Starting for the door, she stopped suddenly. Turning around, she grabbed the letter from the   
floor, if it could be called such, stuffed it into her bag, and left and went down the   
stairs.  
  
"I'll be over at Tomoyo's!" She called out to Kero and Touya in the kitchen.   
  
"Okay!" Touya called back. A muffled hollor followed. It's source, a guardian with a mouth   
full of cookies.  
  
Sakura shook her head in wonder as she put her shoes on. She opened the door, being greeted   
with a breeze scented by the cherry blossom tree. Moving somewhat hurriedly to the garage,   
Sakura but the Pet Taxi into the basket hooked to the handlebars of her rarely used bike. She   
mounted, and pushed off, swerving into the street.  
  
After a while of biking, Sakura finally spotted Tomoyo's house. Pulling to the side, Sakura  
stopped in front of the security gate to Tomoyo's house. Then she collapsed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Darkness engulfed her. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and smell nothing, and yet she   
could. Then, slowly things came into view, and her senses were bombarded. Stars in the sky   
glinted and winked at her. The moon hid itself behind the trees. A wet smell hung at her   
nose, reminding her of tears. Hurricane force winds tore everything around her, yet not a   
single hair on her head lifed with the wind. She could see buildings around her. Homes   
stretched forward against the dark horizon. Roofs and windows flew off their structures and  
past her, leaving her unscathed.  
  
Not a soul was nearby. Closing her eyes and stretching her mind, she sensed nothing. There   
was no trace of magic besides her own. Opening her eyes suddenly, she looked down the street   
she stood on and into the flying debri. A figure made itself known. It made no noise, but her   
eyes were drawn to it like a magnet. It too, walked forward unscathed by the dry hurricane   
winds and debri. It walked slowly, leaving her wondering of it's identity. She could not tell   
whether it was a girl or boy. Maybe it was neither. The edges of the silhouette glowed and   
left the center a solid pure black. Nothing happened as it walked closer, except the chills   
running up her spine grew more frequent with each step. Then it stopped. It was too far away   
to recognize any details, but it was close enough to hear.  
  
"Someday soon, Sakura. I promise."  
  
She gasped and squinted, trying to find any clue to who this figure was, and how it knew her.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
She got no reply. It vanished, leaving only her in her surroundings. Suddenly, the wind died,   
and everything that it had supported fell. Including her. The disappearance of the figure   
froze her skin, as if it had been her only source of heat. Horrible and unbearable pain shot   
through her heart and threatened to rip it to peices.  
  
She laid there, gasping for breath as she stared at the heavens, her skin so cold it felt on  
fire. But all she could think about was that voice that echoed in her mind. It had no tone,   
as if spoken in her mind, but somehow she recognized it. Who it was, however, she still did   
not know. Her brain reeled with it's last thought.  
  
'This person will change my life.... if only I knew who it was.'  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura opened her eyes sleepily, noticing first the rough and moist texture rubbing against  
her fingers. 'Hoe!? How'd Li get out?...... and.....'  
  
"What happened?" Sakura asked nobody in particular. She moaned slightly as she focused on the   
silhouette hovering above her.  
  
-- End of Chapter 3 - If Only I Knew --  
  
Japanese Translations:  
------- Hoe -------------- Sakura's signature word, pronounced 'Ou-ehy'.  
  
Syaoran: I wasn't in there.  
Feit: So?  
Syaoran: I'm supposed to be!  
Feit: Don't get such an ego, Rudolph!  
Sakura: Who's Rudolph?  
Feit: Your boyfriend over there.  
Sakura: ///@_@/// He... umm..... uhhh....  
Feit: *waits patiently while sipping her tea*  
Syaoran: *starts to plan how to get that tea away from Feit*  
  
  
  



	5. Missing

  
  
  
  
  
Series Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"No matter how lonely you get or how many birth announcements you receive, the trick is not   
to get frightened. There's nothing wrong with being alone."  
Wendy Wasserstein, Isn't It Romantic, 1983  
  
Disclaimer: Isn't it enough to not own them, but to have to admit it?  
  
(AN: Japanese Translations are at the bottom.)  
  
Syaoran: What's WRONG with you, Feit?  
Feit: How's that again?  
Sakura: I think he just means you never really ever finish fanfics, but you're getting pretty   
far in this one.  
Feit: oh. Good enough. ummmm......... I dunno. *shrug* On with the FIC!  
  
-- Chapter 4 - Missing --  
  
"Sakura? Daijoubu desu ka?" The silhouette asked. Sakura recognized the voice. It was Tomoyo.  
  
"Hai. What happened?" Sakura asked as she sat up, rubbing the fuzziness from her eyes. She   
looked up at Tomoyo, no longer a silhouette. Sakura observed her surroundings. Kero was   
hovering nearby, and the kitten had started to chase him. She smiled gently at the sight, and   
looked around. There was only herself, Tomoyo, and Kero in the room. Not including the   
kitten. The room was Tomoyo's bedroom.  
  
"You collapsed just outside the security gate. Security recognized you and brought you in.   
And then I called Kero. You were out all night. I called your house and said you were staying   
here last night... Now you tell me... what happened?" Tomoyo's concerned voice floated into   
Sakura's ears.  
  
"Kero?"  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"You said my dreams were preminitions, right?"  
  
"Yea. And they were. But this was no dream."  
  
"I know. But it WAS a preminition, Kero."  
  
Kero folded his arms in thought, his tiny little brow furrowed. Tomoyo had her finger on her   
chin, and she was looking up at the ceiling. Kero spoke. "But your preminitions never caused   
you to pass out before, Sakura. And they'd only occur when you where already daydreaming, or   
asleep." Sakura nodded, and watched silently as Kero dodged the kitten's paws. She mentally   
thanked Kero for being so patient. Sakura slid to the edge of the bed and dangled her feet,   
thinking.  
  
Tomoyo broke out of her trance. "What was the preminition, Sakura?"  
  
"Well... It was dark and windy. But I never felt anything. All I really remember is this   
figure walking towards me. When it got close, it said, 'Someday soon, Sakura. I promise.' and  
then it vanished. After that I was freezing and my heart hurt so much." Sakura looked down,   
and kicked at the floor. She was so confused over this!  
  
Tomoyo stayed silent for a while. "Well. Do you know who the figure was?" Sakura shook her   
head silently. If only she did! Tomoyo hummed in thought.  
  
Kero floated in front of her face, he squinted, as if trying to see into her soul. "Do you   
know what that figure meant by saying that?"  
  
Sakura shook her head. "No. Where's my bag?" Tomoyo handed it to her. Sakura noticed the   
smudge marks on it, caused by her fall. She'd have to get a new bag. Then she opened it, and   
pulled the message from it, handing it to Tomoyo. Kero flew to Tomoyo's shoulder and read. "I   
got it in the mail this morning."  
  
"Weird..." Kero muttered.  
  
"Really weird..." Tomoyo agreed.  
  
Kero flew, pacing the air. "This is the first preminition to hit you with so much force that   
you passed out. You said you FELT pain?" Sakura nodded. "Do you still feel this pain?"  
  
Sakura shook her head. "No. I feel something, I can't describe it, but it's nothing near the   
pain I had in the preminition."  
  
"I don't get it, Sakura... maybe you should sleep on it, and see if anything else comes to   
you..." Tomoyo suggested. Sakura nodded, and Kero agreed. The air stung with silence for a   
while, each looking at each other, and various parts of the room. Sakura's eyes were drawn to   
the window. She felt something wasn't right, but she eventually chalked it up to having such   
a strong preminition.  
  
"Well!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "Mom's having a Easter party next week for her business friends,   
and she said I could invite my friends too! You and Syaoran are invited!"  
  
"And I'm not?" Kero asked, slightly indignant and hurt.  
  
"I'm sorry Kero! I'd ask you to come, but I don't think it'd be all too wise to have a flying   
stuffed animal there."  
  
"I'm not a stuffed animal!"  
  
"But that's what the people will think!" Tomoyo shot back. Kero flew off to the window,   
standing with his arms crossed, muttering.  
  
Sakura shook her head lightly. Kero had such a temper. "We'll figure something out, Kero. I   
promise."  
  
"Really?" Kero asked, turning halfway. Sakura nodded. He grinned, and flew over and sat on   
her shoulder.  
  
"Syaoran got you the kitten, Kero tells me. Kawaii!"  
  
"I know! Syaoran can be so sweet." Sakura said, smiling.  
  
"He's a dream come true for you, am I right?" Tomoyo asked, grinning as Sakura blushed.  
  
"Yea..." Sakura trailed off, holding a sleeping kitten in her lap. Silence hung about again   
once more, for just a few moments.  
  
"Now!" Tomoyo grinned, clasping her hands, "Your costumes! I've already planned some ideas   
out...," Tomoyo trailed off as she got out some paper with sketches of the outfits on them.   
Sakura was extremely glad when Tomoyo started consulting with her about the costumes. "I was   
thinking this one... it may be a Easter party, but it's more of a ball than anything. It's   
'formal' my mom says. Which basically means lots of food you can't identify, and bright,   
sparkly dresses and stiff, formal tuxes. However! I made three designs for you. Your pick!"  
  
Sakura took the sheets of paper. Tomoyo had even colored them! She must be really excited   
about this. Sakura frowned inwardly. 'She must be up to something.' Sakura looked closer at   
the designs, and all thought washed away.  
  
"Migoto! Tomoyo, these are magnificent!" Sakura glanced up as she spoke, and turned her eyes   
back down to the designs. She imagined wearing the designs as she looked at them. The first   
design was white, and simple. It had a square neck, and it flowed to the ground. Sequins   
graced the skirt, and lined the shoulders. The dress was sleeveless, but white elbow length   
gloves covered skin left bare, only her upper arms untouched. The headpiece was a simple   
crown design which fit elegantly into the hairstyle drawn out.   
  
The second design was even more elegant than the first. It was cherry blossom pink, and the   
neckline dodged upward in an upside down triangle, the tip meeting the dip in her neck, and   
then into a collar to go around her neck. Thin straps netted the back, and continued down to   
her lower back, where it met the skirt, which flitted to the knees. Sandles would grace her   
feet, and her skin would be doused with glitter. Sakura read all the notes by the images.  
  
The third and final design enraptured Sakura's attention. The neckline was a obtuse angle,   
showing her collarbones and her shoulders, and the sleeves didn't start still just below the   
shoulders. The sleeves ended in gloves, and were pink. A t-form necklace graced her slim   
neck, ending with a small emerald. 'Syoaran's favorite color,' she thought. The bodice was   
white, and slipped down casually, ommiting a defined waistline, and slowly fading to the pink   
shade her glove-sleeves were as it dived down. It flowed about behind her, lifting with the   
slightest wind. A transparent wrap graced her elbows and dipped deeply behind her.   
  
"Tomoyo... these are wonderful! I can't believe it!" Sakura gasped. Silently, she held out   
the third.  
  
Tomoyo beamed, taking the design and shooing her from the house. "I gotta make your dress   
now! This will be so fun!"  
  
"I'll find Syaoran and tell him about the party, ok?" Sakura said as she placed Li in his Pet   
Taxi.  
  
"Great! See you tomorrow, right?"  
  
"Of course!"  
  
Sakura smiled brightly as she secured Li in the basket, and mounted the bike once more. Now   
off to find Syaoran. 'He'll love this! And I'll tell him today! It will make our Easter party   
so much more special if he knew!'  
  
Sakura biked to the park happily. She paused there to get a drink of water, and she sat on   
the bench, watching birds play in the grass and the ducks dwaddle in the lake. The wind   
rippled the water's surface as Sakura looked into it, making her reflection distorted. Her   
smile faded slowly. 'What if he doesn't love me back?'  
  
Putting her weight on her knees, Sakura brought herself to stand. She looked around, then   
wandered to the garden, keeping an eye out for Syaoran. When she didn't find him, she got   
back on her bike again, and headed for the deli. He would often go there, but she didn't find   
him there either.   
  
Sakura had biked almost the whole town before she decided to try his house. She would have   
earlier, but normally he'd be outside at this time, and then he'd train himself at sundown.   
It was a good few hours til then.  
  
Sakura knocked lightly on the door. "Syaoran?" No answer. She tried the doorknob. Unlocked.   
She let herself in. Maybe he had fallen asleep. She checked his bedroom. He wasn't there. he   
wasn't anywhere that she could think of. Sakura left as silently as she came and biked for   
home.   
  
'Maybe he just keeps moving, and I keep checking the right places, but at the wrong time.'  
  
Sakura arrived at home. She parked her bike, made her way up to her room. She collapsed on   
the bed, the biking trip around town had exhausted her. Just after she let Li out from his   
Pet Taxi, she fell asleep to his gentle purring at her neck.  
  
On her desk a light was blinking. There was a new message on her answering machine.  
  
A storm raged outside that night. Lightening struck angrily. The light on Sakura's desk died.  
  
The news station now had a fallen powerline to report the next morning. It had cut off power   
to an entire neighborhood.  
  
-- End of Chapter 4 - Missing --  
  
Japanese Translations:  
------- Daijoubu desu ka - Are you alright?  
------- Hai. ------------- Yes.  
------- Migoto ----------- Beautiful  
  
Sakura: That message must have been really important, if you had mentioned it.  
Feit: If they really want to talk to you, they'll call back.  
Syaoran: Not neccesarily.  
Feit: *gives Syaoran some tea* You need to smile more.  
Syaoran: You aren't going to drug me to get me to smile!  
Feit: Who said it was drugged?  
Sakura: Syaoran did.  
Feit: *sweatdrop*  
  
  
  



	6. He Hates Me

  
  
  
  
  
Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss,   
then our lives will be empty, our loss greater."  
Unknown  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not yours. CLAMP's. Pity.  
  
(AN: This is a VERY short chapter, but it gets the needed message across.)  
  
Syaoran: MMMPH! *tied and gagged*  
Feit: Well that's what you get for trying to take my tea away!  
Sakura: *giggles and gives Feit a high five*  
  
-- Chapter 5 - He Hates Me --  
  
Sakura woke up suddenly at a bellow of thunder. She rubbed the faze from her eyes and glanced   
at the clock. There was no light shining back at her from the clock. She muttered. The power   
had gone out. She petted the startled Li back to sleep as she thought. 'I've still got to   
tell him how I feel. But I couldn't find him! Where was he?'  
  
Resting her head on her pillow, Sakura dozed off again to the drizzle of rain.  
________________________  
  
Syaoran sat on the plane, facing the window. The plane had made it out of the airport a few   
hours before the storm hit. His fingered fiddled with the corner of the letter he held in his   
hands. It contained the message that he was to come back immediately, that he had stayed too   
long in Japan, and was now needed to train further, and then become the head of the Li Clan   
after his father. Syaoran sighed deeply. They had sent the plane ticket, so there was no   
debating over the time. He had had to leave immediately after he read the letter, if he were   
to catch the plane. His apartment was left unlocked, Wei had obviously known, cause he was   
waiting for the plane when Syaoran arrived. 'Figures,' Syaoran thought. Then his mind drifted   
to Sakura. He hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye to her, but perhaps Li, the kitten, would   
keep her company until he could contact her. But the more he thought about it, the more it  
proved to be impossible.  
  
He glanced at the phone in the arm of the chair, with which he had called her private line.   
He got no answer, and he only left a simple 'goodbye' on her answering machine. He was   
struggling to not get his emotions stacked high, so he knew his voice sounded cold. But he   
couldn't call back now, and when he got home, he'd have no phone to use without eyes scorning   
him. Syaoran sighed again, glad that Wei was alseep. It would be several years, maybe more,   
before he could leave and go back to Japan. It seemed Fate was playing games with his life.  
  
He looked forward, his amber eyes as glaring as the day he arrived in Japan. He erased all   
feeling from his heart. In the Li Clan, a loving man makes a weak fighter. He could not show   
any emotion while training. He had to forget Sakura.  
  
His eyes flickered. 'And she'll forget me. She didn't love me like that, anyway.'  
________________________  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
[The Next Day]  
  
"Tomoyo!" Sakura said breathlessly into her cell phone. "Have you heard from Syaoran?"  
  
Tomoyo sighed lightly as Sakura asked that question for the sixth time that day. "No, I   
haven't Sakura. But he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, would he?" Tomoyo cringed as   
she heard Sakura finally break down and sob.  
  
"That's what I thought too."  
  
"Oh, Sakura, you can't loose faith in him so soon!"  
  
"You're saying that I need to wait a little longer before I accept the fact that he left?"  
  
"Sakura, that's not what I meant."  
  
She sighed. "I know, Tomoyo. I'm sorry. But why would he have gone? He never gave me any kind   
of clue that he was leaving! I went to his apartment today and there was a For Lease sign   
up!"  
  
"Me neither. I don't understand, Sakura. I just don't get it."  
  
"I'll call you back, Tomoyo, alright? Our power is just being turned back on."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Sakura put the phone down lightly, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She played with Li for   
a while, and finally tossed the catnip mouse to the corner of the room. Li chased it, tackled   
it, and seemed to find no end in the pleasure of fighting it. 'Just like Syaoran.' She   
thought.  
  
Sakura moved to her desk, and pulled out her pink stationary. She had to write Eriol back.  
  
~~~~~~ Hey, Eriol.  
  
Tomoyo is just great. She's still carting that video camera of hers around, but she won't   
have Syaoran to tape anymore. He disappeared. You wouldn't happen to have any idea why, would   
you?  
  
- Sakura  
~~~~~~  
  
She folded the paper and slid it into the preaddressed envelope. She sealed it, and rested   
her head in her hands and sighed.   
  
A loud click sounded, and power returned. Sakura glanced at her answering machine. The light   
was blinking again, signaling that someone has fulfilled it's purpose. Sakura pressed the   
play button.  
  
"Hey! Kinomoto Sakura's line! I'm not in right now, so if you'll just say a few words, I'll   
get back to ya!"  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
Sakura's eyes stared wide at the machine. 'That was Syaoran! But he sounded so mad, and   
hateful! What did I do? He left because of me! And I don't know what I did wrong!"  
  
Sakura grabbed the cell phone, almost violently. Her sobs renewed, she waited to Tomoyo to   
answer.  
  
Tomoyo worried as she heard Sakura's sobbing. "Sakura?"  
  
"Tomoyo, he's mad at me! I don't know what I did, but he's mad at me!"  
  
"How do you know he's mad at you?" Tomoyo asked, immediately knowing she meant Syaoran.  
  
Sakura played the one word message again, and put the cell phone by the answering machine.   
She brought the phone back to her ear soon enough to hear Tomoyo's suprised gasp.  
  
"I don't believe it! I just don't believe it!"  
  
"Believe it. He hates me. He hates me, and here I was wanting to tell him that I love him!"  
  
"Oh, Sakura..."  
  
No words were spoken as Sakura fought to control her sobs, which proved impossible. Then,   
suddenly, they did.  
  
"Oh my god, Tomoyo."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I know who the figure in my premonition is!"  
  
"What!? Who!?"  
  
-- End of Chapter 5 - He Hates Me --  
  
Sakura: Well, everything is all weird now! Syaoran's gone, and I don't have a clue to who I think the figure is!  
Feit: That sounds weird.....  
Syaoran: MMMPH!  
Feit: *ungags Syaoran* What was that?  
Syaoran WHY I OUGHTA-- *gagged again*  
  
  
  



	7. The Apartment

  
  
  
  
  
Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings."  
Samuel Johnson  
  
Disclaimer: Not even my cute little kitten owns CCS. CLAMP keeps a grip on them. Darn the   
luck, ya know? Who'da thought they could have resisted such a kawaii chibi neko....  
  
(AN: Japanese Translations are at the bottom.)  
  
Sakura: How long do you think this story will be?  
Feit: Why?  
Sakura: You write too fast, I get no break.  
Feit: I just took a break from writing! You LAZY!  
Sakura: No I'm not!  
Feit: Yes you are!  
Sakura: No I'm not!  
Feit: Yes you are!  
*argument continues... you know how it goes*   
  
-- Chapter 6 - The Apartment --  
  
The school bell rang, and Sakura gathered her books and shot for the door. She had had enough   
of people asking her why Syaoran hadn't come. She didn't know! All she knew he was gone, and   
probably forever.  
  
She left through the gate of the school, but a hand rested itself upon her shoulder.  
  
"Sakura? You ok?" It was Chiharu.  
  
Sakura turned, sighing deeply. "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
"I don't believe that for a second, you know."  
  
"Hoee?"  
  
Chiharu nodded silently. "You've been down for the past few days. I know it has something to   
do with Syaoran, but it almost seems more than that. What's wrong, Sakura?"  
  
Sakura looked down at her feet as she heard footsteps running toward her. Looking up, she saw   
Naoko, and smiled at her. "Hey, Naoko."  
  
"Hey Sakura! Do you mind if I drag you and Chiharu off to the deli? I wanna celebrate! I got   
straight A's, my mom will be so happy!"  
  
"That's great, Naoko," Sakura said, feigning happiness. She caught the side glance Naoko gave   
Chiharu before she spoke again. "But I'd rather not. I hope you understand."  
  
"Of course, Sakura!"  
  
Sakura turned towards home, leaving Naoko and Chiharu speaking quietly. Sakura sighed. It   
wouldn't suprise her if the whole school was talking about her.  
  
Sakura had gotten halfway home before she decided to turn around. She found herself walking   
in the gutter, her shoes kicking up water from someone's driveway. Her eyes turned up, tears   
brimming as she spotted Syaoran's apartment. She stood there, feet slowly becoming soaked by   
the water cascading down the gutter and into the sewer behind her. Wind picked up her hair   
and played with it as she faced that fact that Syaoran was gone, and it was the only thing   
she could think of, but she knew she'd have to shake it off and get over it. But she didn't   
want to. Stepping forward, slowly at first, she headed towards Syaoran's abandoned apartment.   
She let her chin fall to her chest as she picked up her speed and ran, trying to get away   
from everything that was haunting her. The cat in the road, the kitten, the letter, the   
preminition, Syaoran's one word message... everything was tearing at her and she couldn't   
stand it any longer. Tears slipped down her cheeks, silently marking her path. The shadows of   
the apartment complex crawled onto her skin, and she looked up at the balcony Syaoran used to   
stand on as he watched her leave, so many times he had done so. She pulled out a key he had   
given her a long time ago, when they were still fighting the Clow Cards. She looked at the   
number etched into the key, and headed into the building.  
  
The desk stood empty, as did the lobby. Three payphones stood by the doors she had just come   
through, and couches and chairs littered the lobby. The carpet of the room was a worn brown,   
and the walls a yellowish tan. The desk stood at the back, with the stairs and elevator to   
the side. Sakura made her way to the elevator, watching the button glow as she pressed it.   
The doors opened almost immediately. 'Strange,' she thought. 'It's almost as everyone left   
and abandoned everything.' Her face fell. 'Just like Syaoran.'  
  
The bell made a 'ding' sound and the doors slid open on Syaoran's level. She walked to the   
door she wanted, and slid the key into the lock. She almost sighed in relief. The landlord   
hadn't changed the lock. The door swung open quietly, and Sakura let herself in. The things   
that had once been here had been cleared away, leaving empty furniture stand appearing almost   
ghostlike, with no one for their purpose. Sakura slid her hand along the soft fabric of the   
loveseat facing the TV. She sighed as she recalled how she would lean against Syaoran as they   
watched movies, with her falling asleep most of the time. She couldn't help it. His heartbeat   
and his warm hold always managed to lull her to sleep. She smiled sadly at the memory, and   
looked over the apartment. It seemed cold with no one living in it, to give it warmth.   
  
Sakura walked to the balcony, and peered over the edge to the sidewalk below. For the   
afternoon, it was suprisingly quiet. A bird fluttered nearby, and Sakura watched it before it   
flew away once more. Sakura turned her gaze back to the city. It was a beautiful view, and   
she could spot so many areas where she and Syaoran had fought and captured Clow Cards. Sakura   
skipped and turned back into the apartment as she pulled out her cell phone. She hit the   
second speed dial button. The first one would probably never be used again.  
  
"Moshi Moshi." Tomoyo's voice rang out musically.  
  
"Hey Tomoyo."  
  
"Hey Sakura! What's new?"  
  
"I'm moving."  
  
"Really? Where?"  
  
"Syaoran's old apartment."  
  
"Sakura..." Tomoyo's voice had the slightest hint of disapproval.  
  
"I know it seems eccentric, Tomoyo. But I just can't see anyone else coming in here and   
living here. It still even smells like him. I don't want to forget the memories, Tomoyo. He's   
never coming back, but I'm not about to let go of the memories."  
  
"Your memories will always be with you, Sakura. Always and forever. I'm alright with you   
moving into Syaoran's old apartment. However, I think Touya will go ballistic, and you know   
that."  
  
"I know, but I'll feel... closer to him... if I move here."  
  
"Hai."  
  
Silence stung the air for a while, and Sakura welcomed it. She closed her eyes, and smiled as   
she sensed Syaoran's magic as it lingered in the air, destined to disappear within a few   
days.  
  
Suddenly, and loudly, the door opened revealing an angered landlord. "If you wanted to look   
at the apartment you could have waited for someone to show it to you! And how did you get in?   
I locked the door!"  
  
Sakura dismissed Tomoyo and put her cellphone away before speaking to the landlord. "I'm here   
to rent this apartment."  
  
The landlord blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what she just said. "And the   
downpayment?"  
  
"I'll get it to you tonight or tomorrow."  
  
"Uh.. okay then. Now would you please tell me how you got in here?"  
  
Sakura dangled the key she had used to open the door in front of her. "A key." She smiled   
gently, pressing the key into the confused man's hand as she shouldered by him and out of the   
door. Now she had to ask her father. She sighed, and hoped Touya wouldn't be home.  
  
She jogged the entire way, full of energy all of a sudden. It would seem going to Syaoran's   
old apartment would have upset her more, but it hadn't. She felt worlds better instead, as if   
he was holding her like he used to. They acted like a couple, and yet never admitted to it.   
'And of course, I only noticed after he left.'  
  
Sakura opened the door to her home, kicking off her shoes and stepping into her house   
slippers. "Hello? Anyone home?"  
  
"Hello, Sakura. Where've you been?" Fujitaka came from the kitchen, smiling at his daughter.  
  
"Hey, Dad! I've been scoping out apartments. Is Touya home?"  
  
"No, he isn't." Fujitaka turned, then paused. "Scoping out apartments?"  
  
"Yea!" Sakura said, excitedly. "If you don't mind, I'd like to move into an apartment.   
Syaoran's old apartment is still empty, and you know it's not far away. Please, Dad?"  
  
"Let me think about it over dinner, ok, Sakura?"  
  
"Great!" Sakura replied with a beaming smile.  
  
Fujitaka returned to the kitchen, calling out as his form disappeared around the corner.   
"Dinner will be ready in fifteen!"  
  
"Ok!" Sakura called back as she climbed the stairs and dived onto her bed, smiling. Li   
greeted her, meowing inquisitively as he tickled her nose with his whiskers.  
  
"Well that's the first time in days I've seen you smile, Sakura! What's the good news?" Kero   
asked, hovering over Sakura's face beneath the small ball of fur that inspected it.  
  
"I might be getting my own apartment!"  
  
"I don't know about that, Sakura."  
  
"What's so bad about it?" Sakura asked, rolling over and resting her chin on her folded arms,   
forcing Li to jump off the bed. Li proceeded to hide under the bed, waiting for ankles, his   
prey, to show themselves.  
  
Kero started a bit, and looked hard at Sakura. "I really don't know. It just seems like a bad   
idea."  
  
"You've been hanging around Touya too much, Kero."  
  
"I guess so. I can't think of any reason why it'd not be a wise decision. I mean, you'll have   
freedom, and everything. And silence for studying."  
  
"Yea..."  
  
A quick pause ensued as Sakura dodged kitten paws, sitting in her chair and turning on her   
computer.  
  
"Hey, Sakura?" Kero began, sitting on the monitor. He didn't continue til he heard her   
acknowledging hum. "Now that I think about it, what will you take in college?"  
  
"I'm not sure, really. Anything that doesn't have to do with math, I suppose."  
  
"You'll have to take some math, you know."  
  
"Yea, I know. But if I have my own choice on the class, it will not have math in it." Sakura   
started up her Winamp, and clicked on her soundtrack playlist. There wasn't much there, but   
there was a few songs. The first song that keyed up was 'Live Your Dreams' from the movie   
'Save The Last Dance.' Sakura leaned back in her chair, listening to the lyrics. Somehow,   
someway, that's the line of thinking she had to follow. She had to live her dreams.  
  
"DINNER!" Fujitaka called up the stairs. Kero flew from the room, shouting joyously. Sakura   
shut off her Winamp, closing the door, keeping the kitten inside her room. Her heart almost   
raced as she awaited her father's answer, and she noticed Touya still hadn't arrived home.   
'He must be at Yukito's,' Sakura thought. She sat down silently, and besides Kero's babbling   
and noisy efforts of stuffing his face, dinner remained just as quiet.  
  
After the meal was over, Sakura took her dishes to the sink and sat back down, looking at her   
father expectantly. He smiled at her. "I've decided..." He began slowly, "You can have your   
apartment."  
  
Sakura squealed joyously and hugged her father, almost causing him to fall out of his chair.  
  
"Arigato," She whispered.  
  
- End of Chapter 6 - The Apartment --  
  
Japanese Translations:  
------- Hoe -------------- Sakura's signature word, pronounced 'Ou-ehy'.  
------- Hai. ------------- Yes.  
------- Arigato. --------- Thank you.  
  
Sakura: FREEEEDDDOOOOMMM!!!  
Feit: Did you sip my tea?  
Sakura: That was YOUR tea? Hooeeeee...  
Feit: Uh oh. Not good. Not good at all.  
  
  
  



	8. Imperfect Party

  
  
  
  
  
Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"It's all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation."  
Dr. Rob Gilbert  
  
Disclaimer: I have no more funny disclaimers. I need more imagination. I don't own them.   
CLAMP does.  
  
(AN: Japanese Translations are at the bottom.)  
  
Sakura: This is gonna be a good chapter!   
Feit: Oh indeed! I had fun writing this one.  
Sakura: ...Even if you did procrastinate...  
Feit: oh hush.  
  
-- Chapter 7 - Imperfect Party --  
  
Sakura pulled the door open to the apartment building, check in hand. She walked quickly to   
the reception desk at the back of the room, finding the landlord himself standing there. He  
looked up at her expectantly, his hand trailing to her hand and the check that it held. She   
handed over the check.  
  
"Down payment. Just like I promised. When's the earliest I can move in?"  
  
"Umm... As soon as you'd like."  
  
"Good! Now, may I have my key back?"  
  
The landlord blinked silently, staring at her. Then he obliged with the comment that 'giving   
her key back' sounded awkward seeing that he was the landlord and she was just moving in.   
Sakura smiled and headed for home. She was ready to move today.   
  
The walk home was quiet. It was early in the morning, and business hours were just underway,   
so there was no cars on the roads and no one besides herself walking about. She turned off   
the sidewalk onto the pathway that led up to her front door. Entering, she stepped out of   
her shoes and slid into her house slippers, and climbed the stairs and into her room.  
  
Sakura paused by the computer, queing her Winamp and randomly selected a playlist. Then she   
went straight to her closet, ignoring the sleeping Kero and Li, at opposite ends of the bed.   
She pulled down a suitcase and flopped it onto the bed in between it's two occupants, waking  
them abruptly. Amongst Kero's angered shouts of protest, Sakura emptied two of her drawers,   
filling her suitcase tightly. Zipping it closed, she pulled another suitcase from the closet   
and used it to replace the first one. Kero, realizing she was set about packing and totally   
ignoring him, moved to the playstation, Li following. Removing the items from the other two   
drawers, Sakura packed the second suitcase. She pulled at the edges of the bag, pulling all   
the empty spaces to the top as the items inside shifted downward. She hummed as her computer   
played an Nsync playlist which she had qued. Kero was still sitting in front of the   
playstation, whilst Li attacked his hands, if you could call them that, which were drumming   
upon the controls. Sakura twirled lightly, giddy with happiness. She stuffed a few more   
pieces of her possession into the bag, and forced the zipper closed. She wiped her brow   
symbolically, but stopped in mid-motion.  
  
"What's this I hear about you moving?" Touya's voice called from just inside the doorway. It   
was most unpleasant. Sakura closed her eyes and sighed, glad that her back was to her older   
brother. He may be a wonderful older brother, but his instinct of protection was   
suffocating.  
  
"That's just it, Touya. I'm moving." She dropped her arm, and leaned over the computer. She   
turned of her Winamp, and proceeded to shut down her computer. Crawling under her desk, she   
unplugged cords as Touya continued the conversation.  
  
"What made you do this?"  
  
"I wanted to move."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because, Touya, to be honest, I feel suffocated here."  
  
"So that's why you're moving the the Chinese gaki's old apartment?"  
  
"What's so bad about moving into an apartment I know I'll feel comfortable in?" She   
counterquestioned as she pulled herself out from underneath the desk. Touya remained silent   
for a while, and she started pulling the monitor off her desk and put it heavily onto the   
bed. She did the same with the tower and other gadgets she had attached to her computer.  
  
"How are you going to afford this apartment, may I ask?"  
  
"I've got a job, Touya. You know that."  
  
"I doubt very much that working at Radio Shack is going to do you much good, Sakura. You're   
going to college, too, if I'm not mistaken. How are you going to afford everything?"  
  
"I'll be tight on money for a while, true. But as for college, I have a college fund. And so   
did you when you went to college. What do you think college funds are for, onii-chan?"   
Sakura looked at him exasperatedly.  
  
"Sakura..." Touya said warningly.  
  
"I'll be fine, Touya. I'm not 10 anymore. You can't protect me forever!"  
  
Touya drew back slightly at the comment. He didn't want to stop protecting her. There was no   
one else he had ever trusted... except for that brat. But he went back to Hong Kong without   
more than a crude 'goodbye' on an answering machine. Touya no longer trusted him. But he   
didn't worry, either... the brat would never be there to hurt his little sister as he did   
when he left. Touya had overheard Sakura's conversation with Tomoyo, and he couldn't stand   
the heartbreak he heard in her voice.   
  
"I know, Sakura... I know." He said, his eyes drawn to the floor. After a few seconds, when   
Sakura had continued her packing he looked up at her. Her hair shone with the sun's rays   
supplying the light, but her eyes shone brighter, and with light of their own. She was   
beautiful, and sometimes her appearance and her naivety mixed together was a curse upon her.   
"But there won't be anyone else there to."  
  
Sakura looked at him quickly. "Touya... please..." Her voice started to waver. Her brother's   
protectiveness was indeed suffocating, but it was everything to her when he let it go, and   
let her be free. She walked over and silently hugged her brother. "I have to do this. I'll   
always be nearby, Touya. I promise you." She felt Touya hug her back, and she wiped a stray   
tear from her cheek. She loved her brother, and she always knew there'd be somewhere she   
could go if she found herself in pain or in trouble.  
  
Touya let her go and left the room as silently as he had come in. He was letting her test   
the winds with newly grown wings.  
________________________  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
[Two Weeks Later]  
  
Sakura walked through the doors of Tomoyo's home. It was an two hour before the party, and   
Tomoyo had just called, beckoning for her to come and have her dress fit. Sakura didn't   
really see what the point was, Tomoyo knew her measurements probably more than she knew her   
own.  
  
Tomoyo rushed quickly down the steps near the front door, causing her hair to bounce with   
each slipping step. "Sakura! Great! Come on!" As soon as Tomoyo reached Sakura, she grabbed   
her hand, and started to pull her back up the stairs. Sakura laughed as her friend slipped,   
and braced herself against the handrail. Tomoyo, however, wouldn't hear of it. She grabbed   
Sakura's hand once more, and pulled her to the top of the stairs. "I wanna see you in the   
dress I slaved over! Come on, come on, HURRY!"  
  
Sakura laughed again, her thoughts fleeting, and stepped into the doorway Tomoyo had   
attempted to drag her through. Her breath caught in her throat, and tears threatened to   
form. There stood her dress, in a pale green lined with even paler pink. Pink cherry blossom  
designs graced the bottom of the skirt, gathering as if they had fallen from the branches of   
a cherry blossom tree. The shoulders of the dress weren't an obtuse angle like it was in the   
drawing, instead it layed parellel to the ground, made to accent the wearer's collarbones.   
Transparent green material still made the wrap that would grace her elbows. The back of the   
dress dived boldly until it reached the middle of her back, ending in an abrupt horizontal   
line.  
  
Tomoyo looked expectantly at Sakura's expression. "I made some alterations. I hope you don't   
mind?"  
  
Sakura stepped silently to the dress, reaching out, almost afraid to touch it. And yet she   
was to wear it. "It's perfect."  
  
Tomoyo jumped with glee. "Good, now lets get it on you!" She pulled the dress off the dummy,   
and handed it to Sakura. She led her by the elbow to the bathroom, and ushered Sakura   
inside.  
  
Sakura emerged, feeling the skirt that flowed about her tentatively. "I love it, Tomoyo.   
It's absolutely perfect."  
  
"Not quite. We need to tuck in some spots. Stand in front of the mirror. You know the   
routine."  
  
Sakura obeyed, still marveling at the dress. Slowly, adrenaline rushed through her veins.   
She was excited and as happy as she could only have imagined for the past few weeks. Tonight   
would be absolutely perfect. 'With or without Syaoran.' She thought, the smile still pulling   
at the corners of her lips.  
  
Tomoyo looked up at her smile, and a needle slipped. Sakura cried out with pain. "Sorry,   
Sakura! Are you losing all your blood yet?"  
  
Sakura shook her head silently. Tomoyo make her form jerk several times before her   
adjustments were complete.   
  
"Now... it's perfect!" Tomoyo exclaimed proudly.  
  
Tomoyo put her tools of clothwork away and sat Sakura in front of her full length mirror.  
Tomoyo pulled makeup from her desk and began to apply it on Sakura's face.  
  
"I feel like a clown with all that powder you're putting on me."  
  
"You look great, Sakura. Like an angel."  
  
"No, I don't. And there's no one to impress... I don't see why you're going to these   
extremes, Tomoyo."  
  
"Oh, you know how I love to play barbie with you."  
  
"I wonder why I let you."  
  
"Cause I'm your best friend and I get you into concerts with my mom's money."  
  
Sakura grinned and Tomoyo put away her makeup cases. Sakura stood in front of the mirror,   
and her smile widened. Her green eyes were lidded by silver, and her eyebrows had an almost   
invisible sheen of green below them.  
________________________  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
[A Half Hour Later]  
  
Sakura sat on an empty bench in the large ballroom. She enjoyed watching people come in, and   
she could see all the woman's dresses. Most of them wore slick, simple gowns, which   
reflected the business suits they wore to work. She sat for a few minutes, before she got up   
and walked over to the food table. Tomoyo was right, the table was full with foods   
unidentifiable to the inexperienced. Which was what Sakura was one of. She poured herself a   
cup of punch, and leaned against the wall, sipping it quietly.  
  
Gently, a hand touched her shoulder. She turned to the man, ready to refuse a request to   
dance. She jumped slightly when she found Eriol standing in front of her with his hand   
extended... He was hot!  
  
"May I have this dance, Card Mistress?" He asked, with a grin planted firmly on his face.  
  
Sakura put her punch on the table and put her hand in Eriol's. "You may," She replied, her   
eyes laughing.  
  
Eriol took her to the dance floor where other couples were already swaying to the music. He   
rested his hand on her side, and she placed her hand on his shoulder. They were quiet for   
half of an entire song, dancing like the wind, moving their feet without thinking. Then   
Eriol pushed Sakura back gently, causing her to look into his eyes. He spoke.  
  
"Syaoran left, you said?"  
  
"Yea... over two weeks ago."  
  
"Do you know why?" He inquiried.  
  
"No."  
  
"Have you told him that you love him?"  
  
Sakura darted a look at him before replying. "No."  
  
"He doesn't know? You waited one too many days, hm..." he commented, rather than asked of   
her.  
  
Sakura nodded. "I kept thinking, 'One more day. One more day and I'll tell him.' And then he   
was gone."  
  
"So what're you going to do about it?"  
  
Sakura looked at him, slightly startled. "What CAN I do about?"  
  
"Think about it." He left there there, standing in the middle of the dance floor. Feeling   
eyes burn into her skin, she abruptly turned and walked quickly through the large french   
doors. She stepped into the warm afternoon sun, the wind gently carressing her skin, kissing   
her lips and painted eyelids. A stray peice of hair slipped onto her face, and she brushed   
it away.   
  
Sakura leaned against the balcony, her elbows resting upon the cold, hard concrete, her   
hands clasped in front of her. Her eyes peered over the groping lawn, her mind still roaming  
over ideas why Syaoran could possibly have left. She had finally ruled out the thought he   
was mad at her, but she could think of nothing else that made any sense. The day before he   
left, he had given her Li. She was confused over just about everything. What did the kitten   
symbolize? She had thought it was a replacement of sorts for that cat who had died before   
her eyes, but now she wasn't so sure. The signals she had recieved canceled all logic,   
leaving a blank board written only with confusion.  
  
She scoffed at herself. For some strange reason, she was comparing her thoughts to a math   
problem. Although, she thought, 'They are similar enough. I can't understand either one,   
enough to solve the problem, however complex.' And so it was. Her mind drawled it's thoughts   
as she fought to understand them. Her life was now confusing beyond reason. 'A person's life   
should not be so tangled a strand that the one living it is clueless as what should be.'  
  
The wind tossed Sakura's skirt and despite the spring sun, a chill ran up her spine. She had   
made her decision. She had a life to live. Thinking about why he left wouldn't help her live   
a full life. Then she sighed. 'It's been over two weeks! I should be over it by now!' But it   
seemed that whenever a solitary second greeted her, it brought along the memory of Syaoran.   
'I suppose I'll stop thinking about him so much after time.' She nodded to herself. 'All a   
matter of time.' Lost in her decision and thoughts, she didn't hear the footsteps behind   
her.  
  
"I told you it would be someday soon, Sakura."  
  
Sakura whirled around, gasping. She covered her mouth with her hand and squeaked in suprise.  
  
-- End of Chapter 7 - Imperfect Party --  
  
Japanese Translations:  
------- gaki ------------- brat  
------- onii-chan -------- brother  
  
Sakura: ooooh! Who is it who is it who is it????  
Feit: Wait til next chapter ^_~  
Sakura: But I won't be able to LIVE til then!  
Feit: Should I call the morgue now or later?  
  
  
  



	9. Distraction

  
  
  
  
  
Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where   
it functions best."  
Margaret Thatcher, interview with Barbara Walters on ABC-TV, March 18, 1987  
  
(AN: 1.)I don't know Syaoran's sisters' and mother's names. I apologize for that and I did my   
best to make up for it.  
AN: 2.) I might be starting another fic while writing this one. It's not certain, but keep a   
look out, ne?)  
  
Disclaimer: *takes a deep breath* I. Don't. Own. CCS. CLAMP does. I dont own CCS, CLAMP does.   
*repeats the same thing over again, going faster and faster each time, until she's screaming   
out loud. Men in white coats come in...*  
  
Sakura: Leave her alone! *bats away the Asylum men*  
Feit: *crying* I don't own CCS.. I don't own CCS...  
Sakura: *Gives Feit some tea*  
Feit: *Squeals happily and sips her tea contentedly.*  
Sakura: *sweatdrop* On with the fic, I guess...  
  
-- Chapter 8 - Distraction --  
  
Syaoran straightened his back and stood tall, raising an arm to wipe the sweat from his brow.   
It had been three weeks since he had left. Everyday since then he trained and trained hard.   
The Clan thought it was devotion to his destiny. It was devotion, in ways, but not to his   
destiny, but to forgetting a certain someone. Sliding his sword back into it's sheath,   
Syaoran stood by the window looking out upon the grounds of his home. Home. The grounds his  
eyes took in was supposedly his home, and it was for the first ten years of his life. But   
now, his home felt an ocean away, in an apartment overlooking the streets of the inner city.   
That was his home. This place, the grounds that belonged to him felt no more like home than   
hell or heaven. Home was where ever she was, and she was unreachable. He could not go back,   
he could never go back, now that he had returned to Hong Kong. Maybe when he was the leader   
of the clan, but that would be a long time away. Years away. By then she'd surely have   
forgotten him, and he'd have been forced to marry. He didn't want to marry, he didn't want   
anything but to go back and live the life he had grown to know, and love. But willing and   
wishing to go back wouldn't make it happen. Still, he had often thought of leaving silently,   
during the night, or during his training. He had thought out every scenario possible, and it   
was completely and utterly undoable. He was respected, yes, but he needed to be practically   
groveled by the servants and the other people below the clan, before he could do as he   
pleased.  
  
Syaoran's mother then walked in silently, unnoticed by the young man standing at the window,   
deep in thought. Angtian stood behind her son before speaking. "Syaoran, you have been   
training harder than you did before you left for Japan." Syaoran turned around to look at   
her, unfathed.  
  
"Hello, mother." Syaoran replied, no emotion threaded into his voice. "I wouldn't know."  
  
"Yes you would." She said. A pause ensued before she continued curiously. "Why?"  
  
"No reason." he said nonchalently.  
  
"Don't lie to me, son." Her voice was laced with warning. Syaoran took no worry from it.  
  
"Mother, there's nothing to know."  
  
She sighed lightly. Her son was more stubborn than anyone she had ever met before in her   
life. "Fine, Syaoran. Just keep in mind that whatever is distracting you needs to be   
forgotten about. Or something should be done about it, at the very least."  
  
Syaoran darted a look at his mothers retreating back. That was a suprisingly short   
conversation. Normally she'd stay away from the training room unless she had good reason.   
And, just as he predicted, she stopped and turned around. But what she said suprised him   
greatly. "Whoever she is, it is best to either let her know, or never contact her again. I   
hope you make the right choice."  
  
"Mother?" He called out, slightly confused.   
  
She turned around, and smiled at her youngest child, her only son. "How did I know?"  
  
Syaoran's eyes flickered. Sometimes he could swear she had mind reading capabilities that she   
didn't let anyone else know about. "Yea..." he said. There wasn't much he could say.  
  
"You daydream. You never daydreamed before you left this house, and stayed nearly a decade   
from this city. My son never smiled before. You never looked so happy, and yet so lost at the   
same time. You never truly loved, until whoever she is, came along." With that, she turned   
back into the doorway and left.   
  
The conversation his mother had begun had triggered feelings he had begun to bury to rise to   
the surface. His heart ached once more to see her, to touch her. He couldn't help but hope   
she hadn't given up on him. But still, he never said he loved her, and she never gave him any   
reason to believe that she loved him. His life had become an enigma, and she was only a small   
part of the riddle.  
  
He shook his head lightly, trying to shake the image of her from his mind. But her glistening   
hair, glowing emerald eyes and smiling face burned into his mind's eye deeper everytime he   
tried to be rid of it. Even in his dreams he found no peace. His dreams always contained the   
same thing, and have been continuous since the night before he left Japan. It was always   
dark, and cold. Wind battered everything around him, but left him be. A figure approached,   
spoke, and disappeared. The words were always the same. "Someday soon, Syaoran. I promise."   
Syaoran had the oddest feeling Sakura might understand, but there was no way he could have   
said it directly. Of course, it was physically possible, and definately reasonable. But the   
action seemed more forbidding than the action of touching the moon with your feet on earth.   
And so, Syaoran decided to see if he could get a clue, to see if he could find a inkling of   
understanding the next time he came across her. But it was not to be. After he placed the   
letter in her mailbox, he had gone home, his apartment, only to find the letter and the plane   
tickets. The letter, he grimly remembered, contained worse than his own worst nightmare. He   
had to return to the Li Clan, or they would come and hurt the one he was protecting. Namely,   
Sakura. He had no choice. Sure he was strong, and he could have told Kero and Sakura, and   
they could have fought the attack. But it would have been in vain. There were secrets only   
the leader of the Clan knew. That simple fact drove Li to becoming the leader, and that was   
the only thing of it. If he knew what they could do to hurt Sakura, he would have the ability   
to keep it to himself, straight to the grave. No one could ever be threatened by that   
knowledge again. But Syaoran had yet to learn it.  
  
A servant came in with a letter on a tray. Syaoran never really understood why they did that.   
'It's like their afraid to contaminate it,' he thought as he picked up the envelope. It was a   
pristine white envelope, with just his name written on the front. He flipped it in his hand   
to see the backside. There was only a seal holding the envelope shut. Syaoran waved off the   
servant, who was standing a few feet away, and peeled off the seal. It was candle wax, like   
people would use in the ancient times. But why? Everything was handwritten, as if the   
inquirer had been born in the wrong era. Syaoran pulled out a single sheet of paper.  
  
"Syaoran, you were too late." Syaoran said aloud, reading the first line. Syaoran darted his   
eyes up, expecting no one, and finding just that. He was alone in the training room. His eyes   
unwillingly drew back to the letter, and he continued. "You made the wrong move. You need to   
find a way back. There's another way to solve this problem. Find it, and take it. If you   
don't, you will lose everything."  
  
"What the hell does that mean!?" he whispered harshly. There was no reason for him to   
whisper, but he felt the need to. He looked around at the empty training room. He FELT   
something, but he could see nothing. Opening his hand, the hilt of his sword found it's way  
to his palm. Syaoran stood there, all senses peaked. But whoever the presence was, it   
contacted him through one way Syaoran forgot to guard. The spirit spoke in his mind. =You   
know what it means, Syaoran. You know what it means, although you do not understand it   
entirely, you know what it means.= Syaoran gripped his sword tighter as the presence   
disappeared. This time, Syaoran was truly alone.  
  
Syaoran read the note again, memorizing every word. He crumbled it into a ball in his fist.   
Anger rose up in him. He was angry at this presence that no longer existed. He was angry he   
could get no more information than what he had gotten. The spirit, though, had thrice said   
'you know what it means.' He was angry he truly did not know what that presence meant. He was   
angry at himself for taking the wrong move, whatever that may have been. And lastly, he was   
angry at himself for not seeing it earlier. Syoaran looked at the letter rolled into a ball,   
laying on his open palm. He concentrated on it. He stood still for endless minutes until he   
finally moved. He threw the letter forward and mentally called forth lightning, and watched   
as the lightning disintigrated the airborn letter.  
  
Syaoran's eyes widened slightly. He didn't say a word to call forth the lightning. He simply   
had to will it to come, and it did. He smiled. That would be useful. Syaoran sheathed his   
sword by hand, more of habit than anything. Silently, and quickly, he left the training room   
and walked outside. He stood before the cherry blossom tree, which was beginning to bloom.   
  
'Soon. Someday soon. That letter I gave you, Sakura... it will not have been in vain. Even if   
I myself am confused as to what is happening. I promise you Sakura. I never break my   
promises.'  
  
"Syoaran! What are you doing out here?" a voice called to him. Syaoran ignored it, still   
standing before the cherry blossom tree. He felt his sister rest a hand upon his shoulder,   
which she had a habit of doing. Shuli smiled weakly at her brother, who gave her no heed.   
"Thinking about her again, aren't you, little brother? She's a distraction, you know. The   
elders aren't liking how you always space out at meetings. You need to at least try to pay   
attention to the matters of the clan, Syaoran."  
  
Syoaran finally turned his head to look at her. "You'll help me get back to her, won't you   
Shuli?"  
  
"Of course, little brother."  
  
-- End of Chapter 8 - Distraction --  
  
GAHHHHHH!!!! Short! EVIL EVIL EVIL! Short chapter! NOOOOOOOO! Anyway: why did I jump to a   
chapter about Syaoran, and completely leave last chapter's cliffhanger hanging? Well, for two   
reasons. 1.) the best chapter here would be one to throw off the guesses for Syaoran being   
the mysterious one. It would have been SO KAWAII if he were, but then my story would be cut   
drastically. *meeps* sorry my readers! and 2.) Syaoran was about to kill me.  
  
Syaoran: It's about time.  
Feit: Seriously, you NEED to lower the ego!  
Sakura: He just doesn't like you.  
Feit: Well I realized that! *sobs*  
Syaoran: *rolls his eyes*  
Sakura: Syaoran!  
Syaoran: What!?  
Sakura: Apologize!  
Syaoran: *thinks about it*   
Sakura: *Shoots a warning glance at him*  
Syaoran: Fine. *gives Feit some tea*  
Feit: For me? *beams* THANKIE! *sips her tea, smiling*  
  
(AN: A very good friend has given me a package. Can you guess what it is? It's a PENNY! Now   
if you sue me, you'll get two pennies instead of one. Awesome, isn't it! THANKIE MG!)  
  
  
  



	10. Answers

  
  
  
  
  
Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:   
"If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to   
the trees."  
Kahlil Gibran  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Bug CLAMP, I only own the twisted mind that makes such twisted  
fics.  
  
Sakura: ooooh! *shuts up and lets readers read the fic... the event of the summer, the event  
of the fic, the event of Sakura's life..*  
  
*author shuts up too*  
  
-- Chapter 9 - Answers --  
  
Sakura's eyes widened, and her hand fell back to side. She stepped forward slowly before   
breaking into a run. She hugged the person who was earlier standing before her. It was good   
to see an old friend. "Meilin!"  
  
Meilin smiled and hugged her friend in return. She pulled from Sakura's grasp and looked into   
her friend's eyes. "You don't really think Syaoran hates you, do you?" She asked. She watched   
as Sakura took in a stinging breath, and nodded sadly, averting her gaze. Meilin's face   
softened. "Silly Sakura."  
  
"Nani?" Sakura looked up at her sharply in suprise.  
  
"I said, silly Sakura."  
  
"But why?"  
  
Meilin sighed before leading her cousin's love to a bench and sat down beside her. She sat in   
silence, trying to think of the right words, and listening to the crickets and the evening   
birds. A wind rustled agian, as if signaling Meilin to break the building tension. "Sakura,   
he doesn't hate you, he never could. He loves you more than anyone else, and there is no way   
he could hurt you on purpose." Meilin kept her eyes on Sakura's expression. Sakura's eyes   
lightened slightly at Meilin's words, but her sad expression still remained.   
  
"Meilin," she started, "If he doesn't really hate me, why did he sound so mad?"  
  
"He was pained, Sakura. He didn't want to leave."  
  
"Oh." She said. She was still doubtful, Meilin could tell.  
  
"Sakura," she began, "You still don't believe me?"  
  
Sakura shook her head silently.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Sakura sighed. "He hasn't tried to contact me," she said, her tone depressed. "It's been   
three weeks."  
  
"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura. You really need more faith in him."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The Clan won't let him contact anyone. He can't even write in a diary if he wanted to. The   
only people he CAN speak to are members of the clan, and there's very few he knows he can   
trust."  
  
"Why do they confine him like that?" Sakura asked, her anger beginning to rise. "He's human,   
and not a pet! He's also the future Clan Leader, you'd think they'd be smart enough to treat   
him with respect!"  
  
"They do treat him with respect," Meilin said, catching herself offguard with her   
defensiveness.  
  
"But they don't give him the privilages everyone else in the Clan has." Sakura stated   
as-a-matter-of-factly.  
  
"The Clan Elders feel that being away so long has changed him negatively. They are trying to   
'fix the mistake,' or so that say."  
  
"Or so they say," Sakura repeated.  
  
Meilin sighed heavily. She agreed wholeheartedly with Sakura. But it was not her place to   
fight the Clan, especially since she had no magic.  
  
Sakura waited until her nerves were calmed once more. A smile slipped upon her face. "He   
loves me?"  
  
"Yea," Meilin whispered. "He loves you." Her eyes almost fell sadly, but she was happy for   
her cousin. He deserved the best.  
  
"Will he come back?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
"If everything goes how we planned, then yes. If something goes wrong, doubtedly." Meilin   
stated. "But if something does go wrong, we have a backup plan."  
  
"We?"  
  
"You'll know later."  
  
Sakura stood to go back into the ballroom, then turned to face Meilin once more. The image   
she gave made her look like an angel. The light glowed around her, and caused the glitter on   
her skin to come alive. She seemed ethereal as she stood there, standing with a new look on   
her own heart and her future.  
  
Meilin looked back upon her, and smiled lightly, recieving just a curious look from Sakura.   
"What is it?" she asked. The evening birds stopped singing and the crickets stopped chirping.   
The wind blew slightly, causing only the trees' murmur to fill the silence.  
  
"What did you mean?"  
  
"What do you mean, 'What did I mean?'" Meilin countered.  
  
"When you said, 'I told you it would be someday soon.' What did you mean?"  
  
Meilin smiled weakly. "I was hoping to warn you Syaoran would be forced to go back to Hong   
Kong."  
  
"But you have no magic. How did you cause the premonition?"  
  
"Eriol, of course," she beamed.  
  
Sakura laughed musically. It would be like Eriol to do something like that. He always   
attempted, and did, help by causing mischeif. 'No wonder why Tomoyo loves him,' Sakura   
thought.  
  
Sakura sat back down next to Meilin. "I don't understand what part of that message meant. 'I   
promise'?"  
  
"Eriol thought it'd sound nicer." she replied.  
  
"And the letter?"  
  
"I never sent a letter."  
  
"Odd," Sakura murmured, thinking about it.  
  
"I'd forget about it, if I were you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Eriol probably sent it."  
  
"True." Sakura leaned over and hugged Meilin again. "Thank you."  
  
"Anytime," Meilin said as she returned the hug. "Anytime."  
  
"Hello Meilin, Sakura," Eriol said as he came out to the garden, his hand linked with   
Tomoyo's. Tomoyo was wearing a silver grey dress with sleeves and embroderies in bluegrey.  
  
Sakura eyed the connection and smiled knowingly at the couple, who blushed equally. Yes   
indeed, she did know.  
  
"Hey Eriol," Meilin replied.  
  
"How's my cute little relative?"  
  
"As far as I know, he's fine," She said, wary of Sakura's gaze, upon her. "I saw him the   
other week after he was taken back, that one time I went. Then I came back here."  
  
"And my other cute little relative?" Eriol asked, getting an elbow in his ribs from Tomoyo.  
  
Meilin laughed. "I'm just fine, thank you."  
  
Sakura yawned, and shook her head to get the sleepiness out. "Excuse me!"  
  
Tomoyo grinned. "You want to go ahead to the guest room and sleep Sakura? You had a busy   
day," she chuckled at the memories.  
  
Sakura grinned. "Yea," she felt like yawning again, but supressed it. For the first night in   
three weeks, she'd sleep soundly.   
  
Sakura slipped through the crowded ball room and into the secluded hallways beyond. The   
mansion was gloomy when one was alone, depsite the cheery colors. Sakura padded along,   
looking over her shoulder warily, and pausing before every door and confronting hallway,   
peering before she took another step. The empty hallways glowed eerily and echoed her every   
footfall with a ringing 'click-tap, click-tap' of the heel and toe of her shoe.   
  
Whispers seemed to float to Sakura's ears as she neared the door to the guestroom. The   
whispers grew into hushed voices as she reached the doorframe.  
  
"When?"   
  
A pause. Sakura forced down a gasp. 'Kero!'  
  
"No no! That's not going to work! How would I ruin everything if I was in the wrong COUNTRY?"   
Kero shushed his own voice down. "Gomen," he said.  
  
"Yea, Sakura's at that ball." He said, his voice dripping with undescribably evil and   
slyness.  
  
"She certainly loved that dress...." he commented. "... too bad... yea... un hun."  
  
Kero's rang out loudly, filled with the sound of triumph, "Perfect! We'll KILL them with   
that! They wouldn't know what hit them!" He squeaked as a harsh, and static-protected voice   
hushed him angrily. "So should we begin here in Japan, or China?"  
  
"Foil the plan on purpose? But why?" Kero responded to a voice Sakura could not hear. "Oh!   
Ok! I get it." A pause. "No, you don't need to remind me, not a word to anyone."  
  
"Ok, lemme get this straight. We pretend to go along with whatever they are up to?" Kero   
hummed an understanding. "Then we mess it all up and begin OUR plan in China." Another pause.  
"Good, I can do that."  
  
"What else? I can't think of anything else... you?" The air hung dreadfully silent and   
Sakura's heart raced, pounding so hard she was afraid Kero would notice it. "Good, good. Ok,   
Ja ne! Talk to you later... Zurui, ri. Hai." his voice began to be irritated. "Hai, hai!   
Naiou. Ja Ne!" A loud, yet muffled, bang ensued afterword.  
  
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, willing her heart and breathing to slow down. 'What is going   
ON!?' she thought worriedly. She felt her heart disappear into it's steady rythm once more   
and she entered. "Hello, Kero! Good night, Kero!" She said as she rushed to the bathroom to   
shower and change into her PJs. She climbed into bed, sighing. 'Some peaceful night's sleep,'   
she thought, her mind's voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
-- End of Chapter 9 - Answers --  
  
Sorry my readers for the short chapters! This took me 5 pages, front and back by hand (I   
wrote it during summerschool) and I STILL don't like the length. Forgive me!  
  
Japanese Translations:  
------- nani ------------- what  
------- gomen ------------ sorry  
------- ja ne ------------ good bye  
------- Zurui ------------ sly  
------- ri --------------- clever  
------- Hai -------------- yes  
------- Naiou ------------ secret understanding  
  
(AN: OOH! Guess what! Now I have $1,000,000 and TWO pennies! DON'T SUE! I already spent the money! Thank you Takari Faithful 02!!! ^_~)  
  
  
  



	11. Planning

  
  
  
  
  
Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://atare.com  
E-Mail: hawk_witch@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the Chapter:  
"Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless."  
Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)  
  
Disclaimer: Me don't own. Pity.  
  
Sakura: Ya know-  
Feit: SHH  
  
-- Chapter 10 - Planning --  
  
Sakura slid the key into the lock and opened the door. The smell of cinnimon and sandalwood   
greeted her, but the scent quickly faded into that of cherry blossoms. Not turning on any   
lights, she walked through the darkness to the balcony door. Li greeted her warmly at her   
feet. Bending down, Sakura picked him up and held him as she opened the door. Li jumped from   
her arms to the railing, allowing her to shut the door behind her, closing off the sounds of   
Kero rummaging through the kitchen. Sakura sighed heavily, and petted Li's feathersoft fur.   
Her eyes lead themselves to the stars, the same ones hanging over Hong Kong.  
  
'What is going on? What exactly is being hidden from me, and why can't I know?' Sakura   
thought frustratedly.  
________________________  
  
"So how exactly are we going to get you to Japan? That's our main problem," Shuli pointed   
out the obvious.  
  
"I know how." Syaoran said.  
  
"And that 'how' is?"  
  
"What's the one place that's never guarded?"  
  
"But that's too dangerous, and you know it!"  
  
"They don't know exactly how strong I've become, Shuli. Neither do you. I can make it."   
Syaoran said.  
  
Shuli found no doubt in the tone of his voice. Hesitantly, she nodded. "Good luck, Syaoran.   
And be careful. Keep in mind that the Water Abyss is the same place our father died."  
  
Syaoran hugged his sister before shooing her from his room. "You can count on it."  
________________________  
  
Kero glanced out to the balcony, speaking into the phone. "She doesn't know a thing."  
  
"He's planning his escape for tonight. The Water Abyss. You know what to do."  
  
"Yea..." Kero sighed heavily. "If only his escaping would benefit, rather than harm."  
  
"Oh but it does benefit."  
  
"How's that?" Kero glanced at Sakura's form, nervously.  
  
"When they catch him, they'll figure out why. And then they'll bring the reason to them."  
  
Kero breathed in sharply. "Sakura!"  
  
-- End of Chapter 10 - Planning --  
  
Yes it's short... TOO short...., however, I'm STUCK as stuck can get. I know what I want to   
happen, but it's the getting there that's getting me. I promise to try harder next chapter.   
Please, don't expect it anytime soon, or at least anything too much longer than this. My   
inspiration has pretty much died. Later!  
  
  
  



	12. I Missed You

Series Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://mezicolorism.net  
E-Mail: mezicolorism@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the chapter:  
"The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart."  
Saint Jerome (342 AD - 420 AD)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own CSS.  
  
Updates: I'm so incredibly sorry I took so long to write this chapter! I must admit I lost interest in CSS for almost a year, but I've gotten some e-mails reminding me that people are still reading my fics. I also want to alert anyone who cares to know that I do not own atare.com anymore, but my domain is now hosted at mezicolorism.net, and my e-mail has changed as well. I hope the 'flow' of this fic hasn't been destroyed with my long break from writing.  
  
!!! HOLLER OUT !!! To the one that owns animequest.net, I tried finding your e-mail again but GEEZ, I couldn't find it anywhere! Please e-mail me at mezicolorism@hotmail.com right away! Or if anyone knows the e-mail address, please tell me!  
  
AN: I still don't know Syaoran's mother's and sister's names; I will continue to use the ones I have chosen before.  
  
Syaoran: *brushes dust off his shoulders*  
Sakura: *sneezes*  
Feit: I'm sooo sorry about that. *puts a dust buster to the two character's clothing*  
Syaoran: It's about time.  
  
-- Chapter 11 - I Missed You --  
  
Syaoran landed on the ground that lay beneath his window with a soft thud. 'Talk about being a prisoner in your own home,' he thought ruefully. He shifted the backpack on his shoulders again before crouching and making his way away from the building and Elders that he so loathed.  
  
Even though he thought he was getting away unseen, he wasn't. They followed him just as quietly as he was 'escaping'. They could feel his aura dim and die while he was in his room, which meant he didn't want to be tracked and found. An error in his calculations in thinking his aura dimed when he fell asleep; rather, it grew stronger and more resilient.   
  
They weren't about to admit that without Shuli's heads-up, they ~would~ have thought he just went to sleep.  
  
They watched from the shadows as Syaoran dropped his bag on the edge of the Water Abyss. Really it was just a pool of water, innocent in all appearances. There was a submerged series of tunnels underneath that lead out of the Clan's grounds; the means of the young man's escape. Innocent as it looked, it was dangerous. There was a current to the pool that only increased as one entered the tunnels. The current would want to pull you into one of the dead-ends; the currents, as was the Water Abyss itself, were entirely magical. The currents helped one in a way; letting one know where the dead ends were if they got lost... but one had to be strong enough to overcome those currents. Syaoran's father had not been.  
  
As Syaoran sat on the ground and dipped his feet into the pool, the guards finally revealed themselves. "Master Li!" They cried out; not in concern but actual scolding.  
  
Syaoran's head lifted and his eyes darted to them and he knew he couldn't jump in without preparing himself first. He wasn't ~that~ strong. He sighed and lifted his feet from the Water Abyss and sat indian-style while they stood around him. He wasn't a coward, but he was almost thankful for Shuli's interferance; and he knew it was her. She was the only one he had told.  
  
As he sat there his mother walked into the now torch-lit area and looked down at her son. She wasn't disappointed, scornful or displeased with him. Rather she just held out her hand and let Syaoran use her as a balance as he pulled himself from the ground. They walked back to the house side by side, and the guards took Syaoran's bag.  
  
"You love her enough to tell her, then?" His mother asked tentatively.  
  
"Always have," He responded, just as quietly. "Just didn't know it."  
  
Angtain smiled at her son as they caught sight of the building that housed their residence. It also housed the room where the Elder's gave conference. They would be going there now.  
  
________________________  
  
Sakura sighed as she tossed in her bed. She couldn't sleep. The premonition was explained and so was Syaoran's disappearance, but now Kero's weird behavior worried her just as much. He was supposed to be guarding her, was he not? So why was he plotting while he thought she was no where nearby?  
  
She clutched the Sakura Cards closer to her as she tossed in frustration and nervousness. The cards were the only thing she trusted now; she was wary of Kero and Syaoran couldn't even call her if he wanted to. Couldn't even write his thoughts out. They were forcing him to brood on all that was troubling him, is what they were doing. What would come of that? She knew the answer. Nothing but trouble.  
  
Still she wondered. Meilin said he loved her, and her heart had pounded a million miles a minute when she heard it. If Syaoran ever said that to her she was sure her heart would just up and stop. But did he love her like she loved him? There are many kinds of love, but she knew which kind Meilin was talking about. Was that love strong enough to make him come back to her? Was it strong enough to reunite them? Slowly she started to consider the possibility of going to ~him~ instead.  
  
Sighing, she put the cards in a bag and changed out of her borrowed pajamas and into the clothes she arrived in. The night was cool, but not cool enough for a jacket, so she had merely left her jacket at her apartment.   
  
She knocked on Tomoyo's door, who's light was still on.   
  
"Yea Sakura?" Tomoyo had just changed into her pajamas.  
  
"I'm going to go on home." Sakura said, and smiled. "I had a great time, and the dress is on the dummy."  
  
Tomoyo laughed. "That sounded strange. But okay, good night Sakura."  
  
"Goodnight."  
  
Security bade her a goodnight as she walked towards Syaoran's.. no, her... apartment. She found herself walking in the gutters again, but this time they were dry. Her hands were stuffed in her pockets and her cards tucked in her bag that was resting on her shoulder. She didn't ~have~ to carry them around anymore. They came when she called. But their physical presence was a comfort.  
  
It was then that she felt someone watching her. Her hopes rose as she thought about Syaoran. Meilin had mentioned a plan, didn't she? Did that plan work?  
  
She stopped and looked eagerly towards the trees on the other side of the sidewalk. "Hello?" She called out.  
  
Then she felt hands grip her arms and pin them to her sides. She struggled and kicked and cried out loudly, "Let me go!" before they knocked her out.  
  
________________________  
  
Syaoran sighed as the conference room sat in silence. What the hell were they waiting for!? It doesn't take long to scold and say 'Don't do that again'.   
  
He was sitting alone on a chair on one wall while his mother and sisters were against another wall. The Elders, as always, were sitting on the wall opposite of the door; always sitting there to see everyone and everything that went on in that room. If he could tell them to leave and never come back, he would.  
  
Instead, his thoughts were interrupted by voices coming toward the open doors. "Let go of me! Geez, ever hear of 'please?'"  
  
His eyes darted through the doorway at the wall of the hallway outside. He couldn't see her just yet, but he already knew Sakura was there. When she did come in view she was still mocking the guards' behavior as they dragged her along, gripping her by her arms. She quelled to silence when she saw Syaoran. His outward appearance had become rougher in the last few weeks since he left, but his eyes still held the same softness that she now finally recognized for what it was.  
  
As the doors closed behind them, the guards released their hold on Sakura's arms. Syaoran had already brought himself to stand. "Sakura?" He whispered simply before walking the few steps to where she stood. Without a thought, he wrapped his arms around her as she brought her arms around his neck and they embraced each other.  
  
"I missed you," Syaoran whispered, too quietly for anyone but Sakura to hear.  
  
-- End of Chapter 11 - I Missed You --  
  
Sorry this chapter was so short! It seems long chapters are out of my league.  
Keep your eyes peeled for Chapter 12 - Final Verdict! BTW, if I keep up this burst in re-interest, I might make a sequel...   
  
  
Sakura: Thank you Feit!  
Feit: For what?  
Syaoran: For getting off your lazy butt!  
Feit: *bops Syaoran on the back of the head*  
Syaoran: HEY! 


	13. Final Verdict

Series Title: One More Day  
Author: Feit  
Site: http://mezicolorism.net  
E-Mail: mezicolorism@hotmail.com  
  
Quote of the chapter:  
"Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less."  
Rabbi Julius Gordon  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own CSS.  
  
!!! HOLLER OUT !!! To the one that owns animequest.net, I tried finding your e-mail again but GEEZ, I couldn't find it anywhere! Please e-mail me at mezicolorism@hotmail.com right away! Or if anyone knows the e-mail address, please tell me!  
  
Syaoran: Is this the end?  
Feit: Well; besides the epilogue... I think so.  
Sakura: Wow. Such a long wait for two chapters?  
Syaoran: Short ones, at that.  
Feit: -_-; I know.. *slaps self*  
Sakura: *gives Feit a lifetime of tea for the next fic she writes*  
Feit: *squeals* Thank you ^o^  
  
-- Chapter 12 - Final Verdict --  
  
Sakura tightened her hug and buried her face against Syaoran's neck before pulling away. She looked about the room for the first time and saw Syaoran's sisters biting their lips to keep from exclaiming how cute that was. Syaoran's mother was just smiling softly; the Elders' look however, was the opposite. It was almost as if they hated her.  
  
Instead, she looked at them with a stern, almost scornful look with a courage she didn't know she had. Syaoran's arm around her waist simply solified that courage.  
  
"What, may I ask, entitled you to knock me out to bring me here? Asking me would have gotten the same results."  
  
The Elders looked at each other - something they rarely did - before answering her.  
  
"Card Mistress," They began, "We have brought you here because Master Li tried to go to you. We cannot have someone distracting Master Li from his current training, and we are forced to put an end to it."  
  
"An end to it?" Syaoran said, his anger beginning to fuel at how they spoke as if Sakura was nothing. He didn't continue, however, because Sakura put her hand over the one gripping her waist to calm him.  
  
Instead, Sakura continued. "How would you have put an end to me, if I may be so bold."  
  
"You must die." They stated simply.  
  
Sakura just laughed. "I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen. You see, you can't command my death anymore than you can command Syaoran's." Her eyes narrowed and she smiled. "And you know it."  
  
Syaoran lifted an eyebrow at Sakura's new attitude. Silently he thanked the stars that she never met the Elders before; she didn't know the way they commanded everything in his place until he finished his current training. Her attitude and even her ignorance would shock the Elders at the very least.  
  
And indeed, the Elders were silenced. For a moment. "Then you must prove yourself."  
  
"As in fight some creature, you mean? Or fight one of you? Or just simply fight anything?"  
  
"You will battle death itself."  
  
Sakura just shook her head. "I refuse."  
  
"You ~will~ fight." The Elders commanded.  
  
"I will not. I don't have to prove anything to you. Definately not you."  
  
"Then who would you have something to prove to?"  
  
Sakura took a breath before answering. "If I have anything to prove to anyone, it is my love to Syaoran." She glanced at him before continuing. "When he left at your command, I lost my faith in him so quickly, and it took these weeks to realize the truth. I love him, and I feel I must prove to him I won't lose faith in him again. Ever."  
  
Syaoran wrapped his other arm around her waist and hugged her as she leaned back into him.  
  
But the Elders held their answer to her small speech. "Then you will fight. To prove yourself to Master Li."  
  
Sakura nodded, silent for once.  
  
Still, the Elders continued. "Without your cards."  
  
"So be it."  
  
"No."  
  
Sakura left Syaoran's embrace to look at him quizzically. "No?"  
  
"Sakura," He started, "You don't have to prove anything to me."  
  
"But I do! I lost faith in you when I should have known you'd never have left without explaining why if you could. I thought you hated me, Syaoran, until Eriol and Meilin told me the truth. I should have known the truth to begin with." Tears blurred the lower ridge of her eyesight, but she did not cry.  
  
Syaoran pulled her back into his embrace and kissed her forehead. "Everyone makes mistakes, Sakura. You don't have to prove anything to me."  
  
"Yes I do," She persisted.  
  
"No you don't." He stated. "Because I love you."  
  
Sakura was right when she thought her heart would up and stop if she heard those words from him; it was an exhilarating feeling. It warmed her even though the stone room they were in had chilled her skin, it filled the area inside of her that felt despair when the doors thudded closed, and it lifted her from the burning eyes of the angry Elders. All she knew then was Syaoran gazing into her eyes, the feel of his arms around her and his body against hers. She felt secure.  
  
"Oh that's so cute!"  
  
"How sweet!"  
  
"Our little brother's in love!"  
  
"I can't believe it!"  
  
Syaoran sighed at his sister's antics and started to look at the Elders to see ~their~ reaction, but Sakura distracted him from doing so. First he felt her hand on the back of his neck before he realized what she was doing.  
  
His eyes closed instinctively and as their lips met all thought of his sisters' squealing and the reaction of the Elders slipped his mind. He felt his heartbeat pound against his chest, and he returned the kiss. One hand went to wrap around her waist as the other cupped her cheek, and Sakura tilted her head back to deepen the kiss.  
  
It was also Sakura who pulled away. She leaned against Syaoran with her arms wrapped loosely around him.  
  
Syaoran rested his chin on the top of her head and looked up at the Elders, who's faces were the epitome of a poker face. His ears picked up on the fact that his sisters were no longer giggling, and probably under the stern glare of their mother.  
  
It became an odd, uncomfortable silence. The stone-built room they were in would echo a pin drop until everyone stared at the pin that had dared to fall. It seemed to echo thoughts and glares, glances and hopes. The single window was closed against the rising sun, and the room seemed to grow colder instead of warmer as the day advanced. Everyone was still, waiting for the Elders to continue this meeting that had begun to get out of their control.  
  
When one of the Elders stirred, the sound of cloth rubbing against cloth sent a chill to the couple in the center of the room, and worry through the observers.  
  
"Card Mistress," the one who moved called. "Will you still fight?"  
  
Sakura turned in Syaoran's arms and once again he embraced her from behind, and would not remove his grip. Sighing in part fatigue, part exasperation and part exhilaration, she lifted her chin to the Elders and gave her response.  
  
"I will."  
  
"Why?" They asked.  
  
"Because it seems I must prove myself worthy to you."  
  
"Sakura..." Syaoran started, but he was hushed by his mother.  
  
His mother stood and for the first time, confronted the Elders. "My son is happy with Sakura, and I will not let you force her to fight. Syaoran is capable of knowing who is worth everything you Elders tend to worry about, and I agree with his choice."  
  
"As do I," as one sister stood.   
  
The others quickly stood up, strongly stating that they agreed.  
  
The Elders looked at each other and spoke their private conference in a way Syaoran, nor his sisters or mother, or Sakura, could decipher. Then they stood.  
  
"We have come to the conclusion that the Card Mistress is allowed to stay," They said, but continued before anyone else could speak. "But only as long as Master Li continues his training without disturbance."  
  
"Okay," Sakura nodded in agreement.  
  
"So be it."  
  
-- End of Chapter 12 - Final Verdict --  
  
Gahh..... I REALLY wanted this to be a longer chapter, but I guess this truly is the best I can do. If I get enough responses to motivate me, I will write a (short) epilogue.   
  
  
Sakura: *squeals* Yay! Happy ending!   
Syaoran: It would seem all that planning and confusion in the last few chapters got diminished to a simple ending.  
Feit: Yea -_-;; it would seem that way. But then again, some things require more effort in describing than to execute them.  
Sakura: Hoe... Please stop being so technical! 


End file.
